Elastic Heart
by secretive131313
Summary: "As a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, along with the tributes reaped as usual, a second pair of male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors to go in the arena with them and fight." What could this small difference in the Quarter Quell change? Pretty much everything. Warning: abuse
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

**Hey guys! So, I decided to delete my Harry Potter story because it wasn't getting a lot of views and stuff and I just wasn't that into it anymore. So I have decided to go ahead and start my new story, which is a Hunger Games fanfic! To all of you who read my last Hunger Games fanfic, I think you will like this one too. So, in case the description wasn't clear and you are confused, then basically this story is where the Quarter Quell is changed so that along with Katniss and Peeta going in, there are also two tributes that were selected as usual. Don't worry, it's different and I think it will be really good. Also, since this story is different from all of the other stories that I have done, there will not always be a song title for each chapter, so I am so sorry! Howwwwwwever, the song for the entire story is Elastic Heart by Sia, because it perfectly sums up the new female character that the story will be focusing on. By the way, to those of you who like Catoniss (I am one of them), there is no Catoniss in this story because he is dead, but that is okay because I have something to make up for it which I think you will like just as much ;) Please enjoy and leave me a review!**

Katniss POV:

I stand on the stage after hearing Effie call my Haymitch's nam**e **and Peeta volunteered. I did everything I could to prevent Peeta from having to go back in the arena, but apparently it wasn't enough.

However, the thing that I know is coming up next might be the worst thing that will happen today. It is unbelievable that Snow would put kids in an arena with experienced killers out for their throats.

They call the girls first. This is the part that I am most anxious about, because what if they call Prim? There would be no saving her this time, and I would not put it past Snow to put both of us in the arena.

I practically hold my breath while Effie draws the name out of the bowl. It is as if she is taking this long on purpose just to stress me out even more, even though I know that that isn't the case.

When I finally hear the girl's name called, I relax for a moment because it is not Prim. "Thorne Blackburn," Effie says. I look out at the crowd waiting to see who this girl is. It doesn't take long, but the relaxed feeling I had before I completely gone now. The girl is not that tall, and he is incredibly thin. She is wearing a pretty, grey dress. She has pale skin with a few freckles, and haunting pale grey eyes. She is coming from the section of fifteen year olds, but she doesn't look fifteen. She seems skinnier than some of the seam kids, but I know the name Blackburn, and I know that she is a Peace Keeper's daughter, so I have no idea why she is so thin. However, that is not the most shocking thing about her. The most shocking thing about her is her long, curly, fiery red hair that is flowing over her shoulders.

I have seen very few people with red hair in District 12. It is incredibly uncommon to have red hair here, I have only seen it once and I wasn't even sure that I had seen it. I remember that I was in the woods hunting with Gale around three years ago, and we were walking. I thought I heard something, so I glanced up into the branches of the trees and all I saw was a flash of red hair then whatever it was disappeared. I knew it was human because I saw that it was pulled into a high ponytail. I wonder if this could be the girl that I saw all those years ago. But I quickly shake the thought away. She is a Peacekeeper's daughter, what would she be doing in the woods?

The next thing about her is startling too. She is shaking or frightened like any other person that was just chosen as tribute should be. Instead, she walks to the stage with cold grey eyes that are wide, but don't look scared. Effie takes her by the shoulder, and that seems to startle her more than getting her name called did.

"Ah yes, welcome Thorne. And now for the boys," Effie says as the girl (Thorne) stands next to me. I only manage to sneak a quick glance at her before Effie calls out the boy's name. "Travis Underwood."

The boy does not stand out at all. He looks scared, and has dark hair, olive skin and pale eyes just like a lot of the kids do. However I do recognize him. He was in my year at school and is one of the richer town kids. He walks up to the stage and stands there with Thorne, Peeta and I.

"Well, all four of you shake hands," Effie says, and we all do. Thorne's hand is as cold as ice. I notice that she flinches slightly at the contact when I shake her hand. Something is off about this girl.

"A round of applause please for our brave tributes. Katniss Everdeen, Thorne Blackburn, Peeta Mellark and Travis Underwood," Effie says with a shaking voice. Just like that, everyone in the crowd presses their three middle fingers to their lips and holds them out to us. All four of us look at each other and I think that the reality that we are all a team sets in at that very moment. Stand there looking out over the crowd until the Peace Keeper's whisk us away.

But we don't go to the same place as last time. "Wait, wait!" I cry as I realize where we are going. "We get to say goodbye!"

I thrash against the man that's holding me, but he doesn't let go. The Peace Keepers just keep pushing us out of the doors and to the car that is waiting. I can't believe it; I will never see Prim again and I didn't get to say goodbye. Not to mention these poor kids who didn't get to say goodbye to their families who they won't see again.

The fact that I know these kids aren't going to make it is hard for me. Actually, the boy is my age, I shouldn't be calling him a kid. But the small girl with the haunted eyes doesn't leave my mind. She doesn't remind me of Prim or anything, so I don't know why she stays in my memory.

We are silent on the car ride there; it's not like any of us would know what to say. When we arrive at the train station, there are no reporters or anything. We are alone and on the train before any of us really know what is happening.

We all just stand there looking at each other until Peeta suggests that we all go to our rooms for a little bit and then meet in the screening room to watch the recap of the Reapings.

I notice the victors from District 1 named Cashmere and Gloss, along with two older kids who look like miniature versions of them. The District 2 tributes stand out even more. The male victor is huge and Haymitch tells us that his name is Brutus. The girl has pointed, menacing teeth and her name is Enobaria.

"What happened to her teeth?" Peeta asks.

"She had them filed down to point so she could rip peoples' throats out," Haymitch says back simply, and I shudder at the thought. The boy is seventeen and incredible. Of course he volunteers, and it looks like he is perfect for this. He looks a lot like Cato with the blonde hair and blue eyes, only his hair is longer and more of an electric blonde. He looks more nimble than Cato, but just as strong and muscular. However, like Cato, he is obviously very full of himself and without a doubt a threat. The girl is more of a dirty blonde who looks like a complete brat.

I only get a glimpse of the ones from three, but I remember that the victors are named Beetee and Wiress. From four, I see Finnick Odair, who I remember won a few years back and was the youngest person ever to win. A sobbing red headed girl is chosen as the female victor tribute, but an old woman takes her place. Haymitch tells us that she is a really nice woman named Mags, and that she will mean a lot to Finnick because she is like a mother to him. The female tribute is only 15, but the male is 18 and tall and lanky but doesn't look completely incompetent.

Two withering victors chosen from 6 stand out, and Haymitch says that they are morphling addicts. I hardly notice the other two tributes. In seven, Johanna Mason is chosen. I remember that she won her games by pretending to be a weakling but was actually a ruthless killer.

In 8, I notice a woman with kids hanging on to her is chosen as the victor tribute. I also notice two pale skinned kids, both with jet black hair come up to the stage after the victors are chosen. In district 11, a large victor named Chaff is chosen along with a middle aged woman who I think is named Seeder. Two 18 year olds are chosen, but they are both thin and don't look like they will last that long.

Lastly, I see the recap of our reaping, and just like the first time, the Thorne girl puzzles me. I glance over at her, to realize that she has completely zoned out and isn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the recap of the reapings. I have also noticed that while the boy is talking a lot, especially to Peeta, Thorne hasn't said a single word.

I move to sit down next to her, but strangely, she still doesn't move an inch or even notice that I am there. I nudge her slightly, and she jumps violently. She looks over at me and she must see the concerned look on my face, then she says, "Sorry, you just startled me a little."

I smile and say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

We sit in silence for a minute. I notice that she has a habit of hiding behind her red curls. I decided to break the silence and say, "How are you feeling? I mean, I know its not great, but are you okay?"

"Yeah," she says, "I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in, that's all."

I nod, and it is awkward again. Thankfully, Effie comes in and tells us all to go to our rooms and go to bed since we have a big big day ahead of us tomorrow.

"Oh, but before you go," she says, "I have had an idea."

"You don't say," Haymitch says back before he takes another swig of his drink.

"Well, Katniss has her pin, and I have my hair. So I was thinking that we could get you three something gold as a token to unite us and to show them that we are a team. They can't just tear us apart that easily. Alright?" She says. I think that is the sweetest thing Effie has ever said.

"Um, I have this," Thorne says. We all turn to look at her as she takes off a small necklace that I didn't even realize she was wearing. When I look at it closer, I notice that it is a beautiful necklace with a small, pendant on it. The pendant has a sparkling, red middle and is encased by intricate gold vines and it is on a gold chain. It looks old, but it looks very expensive. Now I know that I was right about her being a peace keeper's daughter.

"That's beautiful Thorne!" Effie says. "Where did you get it?"

The girl looks down and says, "It was my mother's. I never take it off."

I then realize that that means that her mother died. "Well, it's perfect. Now all we have to do is get you three boys something gold."

And with that we all head back to our rooms for bed. Tomorrow we will be arriving at the capitol, and if I am going to have the patience to deal with these people in the capitol, I am going to have to be very well rested.

Thorne POV:

When I heard my name called at the Reaping, I wasn't scared or sad. In fact, I felt no emotion towards it at all. I don't even feel emotions anymore, I don't think that it is possible for me to.

I know that I will probably die, but I am more scared of being I nthe spotlight for the next few days than I am of death. I hate being noticed by anyone, and so these next few days are going to be hell.

Also, I am going to be with Katniss, Peeta, Travis, Haymitch and Effie constantly, and what if something goes wrong? What if I get mad or if I let my wall down or if they touch grab mu wrist? If I can just keep it together for a few more days than I will be able to be by myself again once I am in the arena.

There is still a minor flaw in my plan of keeping it together, and that is the fact that I haven't had it together since the day my mom died when I was 8 and I don't know how I will manage to do it now.

I also know this. I know that no matter how clear it is that I am not going to make it, I am still going to have to try my hardest because that is just who I am. I have been taught to fight. I can't give up, no matter how much I want to I keep fighting. My mom taught me to not give up or give in until I take my final breath.

**What did you think?! I am so excited for this story and I'm sorry this chapter was a little slow, but it will pick up soon enough so don't worry. Also, with the wrist thing (spoiler) it's not about self harm or anything. You will see what it is about later, but it isn't that for those of you who don't like reading about that sort of thing. Please follow, favorite and most of all review because it would mean the world to me!**

**XOXO!**

**-M**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

**So, thank you so much to the review that I got on the last chapter (even though for some reason it isn't showing up on the story, I don't know why). Here is chapter two, and I really hope you like it!**

Katniss POV:

I am lying in bed awake after my usual nightmare, when I hear a scream. It was definitely feminine, so I get up and rush to Thorne's room. When I get there, I see her sitting up in bed with her face in between her hands. She is shaking violently. I try to go to towards her, but she says, "Please just leave. I'm fine, just go."

I don't want to leave her, but she seems like she means it when she wants me to leave. I wish I knew what she was dreaming about, but it is probably just about what will happen in the games. I go back to my room and just attempt to go back to sleep.

Thorne POV:

Shit it's already happening. The first night there and I am losing it and making people suspicious. No one can know, so that is why I told Katniss to leave. I have to block him out of my mind.

I keep trying to remind myself that he isn't here and that I will never see him again, but it isn't working. I can't let him affect me and I most certainly can't let anyone know. No matter what happens, I can't let my walls down for even just a split second.

I wake up groggily in the morning to the sound of Effie's voice. I am only half awake when she bursts into my room. I can't help it; it is too much and scream. I look to see that it is just her, and I calm down a little bit.

"Time to get up for breakfast," she says to me, "We will be arriving in the capitol shortly."

I nod, and I get out of bed as soon as she is gone. I am only wearing a tee shirt that goes down to mid thigh, so I couldn't get up with her in my room. I go over to the shower and I step in. The shower is so confusing that I eventually just decide to hit a button and see if it works. It sort of does, so I stand under the water and try to block everything out, which is hard because the memories are literally covering my body.

Showers always bring back so many memories. In my old house there was a shower. It wasn't very good, but it was usable. I remember that every night I would drag my bloody and broken body into the shower and just stand there. After the first few years of doing this, I wouldn't even cry. I would just stand there and feel numb.

No, I can't take any more of this. I turn the shower off and I wrap myself in a towel. I walk back into my compartment and look out my options for clothes. There really isn't a good option for me. Everything there is either too tight or short sleeved. I decide that I will just have to suck it up and deal with the too tight because short sleeved is not an option.

I pull on a tight grey long sleeve Henley shirt and black leggings then I brush my hair. Sometimes I like to pull my hair back into a ponytail, but I can only do that rarely or when I'm alone, because hiding in my hair is one of the only ways I have of covering up the bruises on my face.

After that I manage to find my way into the dining room where there is breakfast waiting. Everyone else is already there when I get there, and the minute I sit down everyone looks at me. I just put my head down and eat a pastry of some sort. I don't talk to them and I don't listen to what they are talking about.

That is, until Haymitch says my name and my head snaps up. "What?" I ask.

"I asked you if you were any good with making friends with people. I think that our best strategy will be to have allies, because all of the other victors know each other, so Katniss and Peeta are going to be targeted first. Do you think you could make friends with some of the tributes so that we could have allies?" he says. I like Haymitch, but he is always drinking, which scares the hell out of me.

Oh friends, no. "I'm sorry, I'm really bad at making friends. Trust me, if you want Katniss and Peeta to have allies, it's best to keep me as far away from them as possible."

"And you of course," Peeta says.

"What?"

"I mean, we are all going to be allies in the arena right? You and Travis are sticking with us, so these are going to be allies for the four of us," he says.

I wasn't planning on being allies with anyone. I was planning on getting as far away from everyone else as possible the second that the cannon goes off. But right now it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice, so I nod.

Katniss POV:

When I saw Thorne walk in, I drew in a sharp breath. The shirt she is wearing is really tight, and it really shows me just how thin she is. I knew that she was thin from just looking at her yesterday, but now I see that she is really small. This bothers me a little for some reason because she is the daughter of one of the wealthiest people in the district. She should not be this skinny.

After watching her at breakfast, I determine that she just doesn't like to eat. I also can't believe that she didn't just automatically assume that she is allies with us. I thought it was pretty obvious.

When we are done talking about our allies, we arrive in the capitol. Seeing Travis and Thorne's faces when they see the capitol is funny, and I wonder if Peeta and I looked that stunned when we first saw the capitol.

When the train pulls up and we get out, I see that the living quarters is entirely different and much more elaborate than it was last year. We head up to our floor, which of course the top floor, and we all head to our separate rooms until dinner, where I am pestered even more about having to be nice to these people.

**Sorry it was so short and crappy, but things pick up in the next chapters so just bear with me. PLEASE leave me a review and I love you all.**

**-M**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

**Hey! So its chapter three now and this chapter is really important so yeah. Thanks! Please read, review, and ennnnnnnjoy :)**

Thorne POV:

Some person with blue skin and purple hair hands me an oversized, blue cloth gown of some sort. She tells me to put it on and wait in this room for someone named Cinna.

Just then, a couple of brightly colored people come into my room. They introduce themselves as my stylists, and then they tell me that they are in charge of getting me ready for Cinna. I am about to ask them what they mean by that, when one of them goes to my leg and tries to lift the bottom of what I'm wearing up. I kick him so hard that I almost break his nose.

They all stare at me in shock, when one of the women says, "It's okay honey, we just have to get you ready for Cinna. I know you may be uncomfortable, but you don't need to be."

The woman seems nice enough, but her warm smile sends shivers down my back. I try to calm down, but every time the man comes at me, all I can see is my father and I start screaming again. I think that the woman is seeing the pattern, so she tells the three men in the rom to leave.

"It's just the girls now, alright? Can we please start now?" she asks. I take a deep breath, and then I ask harshly, "You never speak of this again, alright? Promise me?"

They both promise, and then I dig my nails into my palms and let them start. When they lift the thing that I'm wearing, they gasp at the cuts, scars, and deep bruises. I hate hearing them gasp, and I just want to go hide in a hole.

Soon enough they work past the shock of seeing my broken body and they get to work. Everything they do hurts like hell, and I flinch at every move they make. They shave me until I feel completely exposed, then they leave the room.

When they are gone, I can't stop shaking. I keep thinking of the bruises and how they got there, and it just makes me shake harder. I hear the door open and I look to see who it is.

I jump back and scream when I see the face of my father standing in the doorway. I put my in between my knees and I block everything out until I have calmed down. Well, it's as calm as I am going to get.

When I look up, I see that it isn't him at all. Instead, it is probably the most real looking person I have seen all day. He is young with dark skin, pierced ears and gold eye-liner.

"I'm Cinna," the man says. So this is the Cinna that they were talking about.

"Thorne," I say quietly.

We don't talk for a moment before he says, "So my stylists tell me that you were very badly beaten up."

I don't look at him, I can't, so I just nod.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks. I still don't look at him as I shake my head.

"Okay," he says. It surprises me, so I snap my head up to look at him. "I will be our little secret."

"Thank you," I whisper. I don't even know what to say.

"Alright, let's get to work," and with that I am put through another series of primping.

About an hour later I am dressed in a tight fitting black dress and my face is adorn with dark black yet somehow stunning makeup. I look completely different from how I usually look. I don't know if beautiful would describe it, I just feel…. Dangerous.

I meet up with Peeta, Katniss and Travis. When I get there, everyone looks at me like I am completely alien. They eventually snap out of it, then we all get in the elevator and head down to the main floor where the carriages are waiting.

This is when I start to panic. There are so many people in here and that's just all of the tributes and stylists. How am I going to handle all of the people out there?

I decide to go stand in a corner and try to be invisible. I head over to a nearby wall and lean against it. I think my attempts at remaining unnoticed are working, so I stay there and look around.

Then I look at Katniss. She seems to be petting a horse while talking to a shirtless man who is grinning strangely. Katniss looks incredibly uncomfortable, but eventually Peeta comes over and the other guy leaves.

Hearing the announcement for us all to get in our carriages, I walk over and get into mine. I am with Katniss, so I think that takes away some of the nerves. If I was with Peeta or Travis then I might start seeing his face and then I would be screwed.

Cinna comes up and hands Katniss something. "Press this when you're ready, and don't smile and wave this time. Look directly in front of you, as if this event is completely beneath you," he tells her, then we start moving, and I almost forget to breath. "Are you ready?" Katniss asks me. I just look straight and shake my head no.

At that very moment, we emerge out of the dark place we were in previously into light so bright that I have to squint for a second before my eyes adjust. However, when they adjust, it just scares me even more.

We are moving fast down a long stretch of dirt. There are people banging drums on each side of us until the drummers morph into stands of who knows how many people. At first I feel intimidated, then Katniss hits the button Cinna gave her and my dress morphs into soft flames. Actually, they are more like sparks than flames, but when my dress lights up I start to feel like I'm flying.

I look at Katniss and she looks at me, then with that shared look we both know what to do. At the same time, we both stick a hand out directly to the side and then slowly move it up until it is fully up. I can feel the wind flying through my fingers, but it feels good. When our arms are fully up, the crowd erupts into even louder applause. We pass a mirror or something and I see myself. My hair is blowing back, and it makes me look as if my hair is on fire too. Thankfully, Cinna put a lot of makeup on the bruises on my face so you can't see them.

I don't look as weak I think that I always look, because all I have ever been told is how weak I am. Now I see that I may not be that weak at all, maybe I am just as dangerous as I feel in this moment.

We pull into a circle and President Snow comes out. This is the first time I have actually seen him, and I hope it is the last. I hate him with a passion. No one that I know really realizes it, but I see it. I see just how corrupt our system is and just how horrible Snow is. I mean, I have heard talk of people who feel the same way I do in the Seam, but I can never learn more because they back away from me when they spot me because I am a Peace Keeper's daughter.

He gives some speech that I barely even listen to, and then we ride back down the stretch and out of the view of the public. When the carriage stops, I practically fall off of it. With Katniss's help I am able to get down without getting hurt. It's strange, but we're are both just laughing. I can't really remember the last time I gave a real smile, much less the last time that I laughed for real.

"How was that?" Peeta asks Travis and I. "Intense," I am able to get out, then they all laugh. So far from what I can tell, Travis is just a little annoying. He sort of follows me around like a lost puppy, and I have no idea why.

At that moment, Haymitch, Effie, Cinna and the others come to congradulate us along with another man who I assume is also a tribute by the way he is dressed.

"This is Chaff from district 11," Haymitch tells us, then he goes to Katniss and kisses her full on the mouth.

Haymitch starts laughing and Katniss just looks stunned. "These victors are all crazy," Katniss says, then we get in the elevator along with the district 7 tribute who I recognize as Johanna Mason.

"Well you guys look amazing," she says as she starts taking of her jewelry. "My stylist is such an idiot. District 7, lumber, ugh."

What is she doing? Then she turns to Peeta and tells him to unzip her. Then she takes off her entire outfit and she is standing there stark naked with all of us just staring at her. I look over at the faces of the others in the elevator to see if anyone finds this as disturbing as I do. However, everyone of the people from my district have different looks on their faces.

Haymitch is smirking, Travis looks like he doesn't know what to think, Katniss looks downright annoyed, and Peeta looks like he is in shock. I decide that I will just look down, so I keep my eyes on the ground until she gets off. Even when she is off, none of us know what to say about that.

_I am running back to my house in the dark with animals that I killed in my hands._

_I'm late, and I'm praying dad won't be home._

_Of course though he is._

_I try to explain why I'm late, but he doesn't listen. _

_He starts screaming at me about how I am a worthless piece of nothing and I can't do anything right. _

_I back up until I hit a wall and I can't go any further. _

_"__You deserve this," he hisses in my face before he kicks me in the stomach._

_I slump down on the wall and he continues to hit and kick me until I am barely holding onto consciousness. _

_He picks me up by my hair and drags me into my room. _

_He starts to take my clothes off, and I know where this is going._

_He hits me for every tear that leaves my eyes, so I do my best not to cry._

I wake up screaming my head off. When I realize where I am, I stop screaming and I just shake. I remember everything that I had felt riding the chariot earlier today, and I realize just how damn wrong I was. I am weak, I am nothing, I am everything that he told me I am.

Suddenly, it's getting harder and harder to breath in this room, so I get out of bed and just start walking. I don't know where I'm going, but I soon find myself out of the living quarters and climbing up the first ladder that I see.

When I get to the top, I see that I am now on a rooftop. I walk to the edge of it and look down. I can hear parties going on, and that doesn't help how horrible I feel right now. I turn away and slump down on a wall as I shake. I'm not even really crying.

I become fully alert when I hear a sound coming from nearby. I look around to see if I can see where or who it came from, but I don't see anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of golden hair disappear down the ladder that I used to get up here, so I follow it back down. Of course when I get down the ladder, whoever it was is gone.

I decide to go back to bed now, so I head back to my room and collapse, hoping that I don't wake up screaming again.

**Reviews would be awesome! This is where things start to pick up, so I hope you stick with me and let me know what you think.**

**Love you**

**-M**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

**Its chapter 4 already and I am loving the reviews! Please read and enjoy and I have nothing else to say.**

**DISCLAIMER: I forgot this in previous chapters, but in case it isn't obvious enough, I don't own the Hunger Games. Sad, but true.**

Thorne POV:

This is the first of the three days that I am dreading the most about being in the Hunger Games: the training. I am going to be put in a room full of weapons and people who think that I am not a threat and I won't be able to do anything.

I learned to throw knives at an early age, and I haven't missed since I was seven. I have also become incredibly skilled at hand to hand combat and quick thinking, thanks to my father. Whenever I would get angry, I would just train and teach myself new things, making my fighting skills one of the only decent things about me. I could never stand up to him, but if any one of these tributes were to come at me I guarantee that I could fight them.

However, I sworn that I am going to lay as low as possible, which includes not doing anything that would even resemble all of the things I can do. So when I am sitting at breakfast and Haymitch asks Travis and if we had any skills, I just shook my head. Apparently Travis knows plants and can use a sword a little. When I lie and say that I can't do anything, Katniss tells me to stay with her today and she can teach me a couple of things.

We are about to walk through the doors of the training room when Peeta reminds us that we have to be nice to everyone so we can make allies. Of course, the second we walk in we see a man vomiting by the side of the wrestling ring and Johanna who is about to wrestle someone while naked. Well this is going to be fun.

Immediately, Travis goes over to the swords and Peeta goes off to ties some knots, leaving Katniss and I just standing there. What's worse is that we are right by the knives section. Just then, something catches my eye. I see a flash of golden hair, just like the one that I saw last night.

I turn to see that it is a tall, muscular but not large guy who is chopping the heads off of dummies. He has shaggy, electric blonde hair and constantly wears an arrogant smirk. So this is the guy that must have been on the roof last night.

Thankfully, it was so dark up there that I'm sure he wouldn't recognize me. He is using a sword and he is incredible. He takes off the head of three dummies, stabs one in the heart, then kicks the legs out from under the other and stabs it. He is brutal, yet beautiful in a way.

When he is done, he stands up and looks over at us, specifically me. We look eyes for a second before he runs his hand through his hair and gives me one of the most arrogant smirks I have ever seen on any singular persons face. I roll my eyes and then look to Katniss, who is looking at Enobaria intensely. I turn around and look away from him.

Father taught me never to look a man in the eyes, and so I never really have been able to because I see my father a lot. But the strange thing is, when I locked eyes with that asshole back there, I didn't feel scared. Well, I was really annoyed by how full of himself he was, but I wasn't scared.

"Who's the guy with the blonde hair behind us?" I ask Katniss. We both turn to look at him as we see him decapitate two more dummies.

"I think I remember them saying that his name is Trace Ryder, the male tribute from 2," she tells me. That explains why he is so good. It also explains why he is so full of himself. I nod, and then we decide to go over to the knot tying station.

I hate all the things getting beat up in here; it reminds me too much of home. I see one of the tributes grab the wrist of a dummy and then punch it until it falls, just like my dad used to do to me.

A shiver runs through me as I look away from the boy and focus on the knot. I have long, nimble fingers and I am used to tying knots on traps. My dad spent most of the money he earned as a Peace Keeper on alcohol, so I had to find a way to keep us (mainly him) fed. I found that the gate wasn't actually electrocuted, so I would sneak through a gap in the fence and I would hunt, gather and trap until we had enough food to sustain us. It's ironic because my dad is the one who is supposed to be enforcing the law when he breaks laws by letting me outside of the fence on a daily basis. It's also ironic considering everything that he has done to me.

"That's good," Katniss says, and she reaches over for the trap. But my hand is still on the trap, and her hand almost touches my wrist. Thankfully I am able to yank my wrist back before she comes in contact with it. She looks at me questioningly, but thankfully she doesn't comment on it.

After that we go over to the fire building station where we see two victors struggling to make a fire.

"Try moving your hands faster and downward," Katniss tells them as we sit down next to them. He looks at he, then tries it a couple times before he gets smoke and then fire."

"A little brute force is always helpful," he says. He seems nice, but a little odd.

"By the corner of the table," the woman says out of the blew, and we all turn to look at what she is referring to. All I see are the Gamemakers watching us. The Head Gamemaker is standing by the table, but that is the only thing that is near the table.

"Plutarch?" I ask.

"No," the man says, "It's a force field."

"How can you tell?" Katniss asks, and the woman smiles as she says, "Look at the shimmering."

We both look at what she might be talking about, and we finally see it. You can just barely make it out, but there is a slight shimmering in the air that I am guessing is the chink in the force field.

"Why is there a force field?" I ask, and Katniss smiles a little and says, "I think that's my fault; I shot an arrow at them last year."

This makes my eyes go wide. Oh the things I would give to shoot something at them.

We eat lunch and then we decide to go over to wear an old woman is standing. She seems nice, and Katniss tells me her name is Mags and she is from district 4.

"That's very good," Katniss tells the woman, indicating to the fish hook she is making. The woman nods, and then Katniss continues. "How about I show you how to shoot if you show us how to make a fish hook like that?"

The old woman smiles, and then proceeds to make another perfect fish hook just like the one before.

When we are done with the fish hooks, the three of us make our way over to the archery station. This time it is some sort of simulation where fake people are actually coming at you but can't hurt you.

"Do you want me to go first?" Katniss asks, and both Mags and I nod. We wait outside as Katniss presses some buttons and then begins.

Her shooting is amazing. She doesn't miss a single one and she shoots each arrow with such grace that it astounds even me. By the time she is done, every tribute (both victor and not victor) are standing there watching her.

I hear someone breathing closer to me than I ever want anyone to be to me, and I look up to see the blonde boy, Trace, looking down at me. I glare up at him before turning to see a shocked Katniss looking at all of the people watching her.

"Well, I have some good news," Haymitch says when we are back in the rooms tonight. "At least half of the tributes want to be allies with you."

"It's because they saw her shoot," Peeta says.

"Well then you have your pick of the litter," he tells Katniss, and she instantly says, "I want Wiress and Beetee."

"Johanna calls them Nuts and Volts," Peeta interjects, but Haymitch stops him. "Okay, who else?"

"Mags," she replies simply, and Haymitch lets out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll tell them you're still deciding," he says finally, then walks out of the room, clearly annoyed.

**So, I couldn't decide whether to use what happened in the movie or what happened in the book for this scene, so I just went with what happened in the movie. I hope you liked it and reviews would be AWESOME!**

**-M**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Hey guys! So, thank you for the awesome reviews! Sadly, I may not be able to update again until Sunday because I am going to my friend's Bats Mitzvah (sorry if I misspelled that, I'm not Jewish). But I might be able to, you never know. In the mean time, here is chapter 5!**

Thorne POV:

I wake up screaming again. Of course I couldn't just have one night when I don't have to think about my fucked up life. I head out to the roof, but half way there I decide to go somewhere else.

I have been itching to get my hands on those weapons since this morning, and training helps me when I get all messed up like this. So I sneak down to the training room.

Before I do anything, I inspect it carefully to make sure that there is no one else here. When I see that I am completely alone, I grab some knives and I head into one of the simulators.

I hit buttons and all of the sudden I see one of the orange figures coming at me. A smile spreads onto my lips as I spin around it then stab it in the back. Two more come at me, and I throw knives at both of them.

I feel one of them grab me by my hair, but I twist away and slide in between its legs then I stab it in the back. The next one comes at me and I roundhouse kick it until it's head comes off. This feels amazing.

One throws an axe at me, but I back flip over the axe, land, and throw a knife and hit it the second that I land on the ground. After that, two come at me from opposite sides. They are coming fast, so I wait for them to get close enough to each other so that they couldn't stop running. Then I jump up and grab onto one of the beams above me. The two run into each other, then I swing forwards and jump down on top of them, causing them to shatter.

I hear someone clapping from behind me, and I jump up and scream. I can't have people sneak up on me like that.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say ask as I see that it is the blonde, arrogant one. Trace, I think his name is.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he says in an equally arrogant tone as his personality. "It's just that I didn't see anything even resembling that from you or anyone else today in training. Why did you waste all of your time making knots and fires when you could have been practicing that?"

I don't want to answer that, so I just smirk and say, "How did you know what I did in training?"

He smiles, like not even a smirk exactly, just a smile. "Well, I have sort of a sixth sense. I can tell when people are hiding things, and there is pretty much nothing about you that isn't hidden."

"You didn't answer my question," I say.

"You didn't answer mine," he replies back.

This is getting no where, so I take a deep breath and say, "I told the others from my district that I didn't know how to fight."

"Why would you do that?"

"No, you have to answer my question first," I tell him.

"I don't remember agreeing to that, but I will answer your question anyways," he says. "I was watching that Katniss girl you were with. Everyone knows that she's dangerous, but none of us knew how dangerous, so we were all keeping an eye on her. However, I'm starting to think that she is nothing compared to you. Maybe its you we should be worried about."

"No!" I say when I see the look on his face. I practically trip over myself as I go over to him and hiss, "You can't tell anyone about this!"

"Why not?" I don't answer, I just look down and I think he gets what I mean. "It's because you don't want them to notice you, isn't it? It's because you want them to let you die; it's because you want to die in the arena."

I just nod, but then he asks, "God, why?"

"Listen I have to go," I mumble as I push past him.

"Wait," he says, and then I feel his hand around my wrist.

Trace POV:

Usually, I'm sure of everything and everyone, but this girl creates an endless amount of questions in my head and I don't know why. I don't know why I care about why I want to know the answers, and I don't know why I don't want her to leave. But I grab her wrist, and all of the sudden she goes rigid.

"Thorne?" I ask, but she screams and falls to the ground shaking. I see that her eyes have glazed over and she is saying something. I can't tell what it is, but she is clearly scared as hell.

Thorne POV:

_I'm thirteen, and trying to sleep._

_I hear the door slam, and before I can brace myself, he comes into my room._

_I don't ask what he is doing, but he has never done this before._

_I can smell the alcohol on him. _

_He holds my wrists down with one hand and begins to hit me with the other._

_When I am sufficiently beat up, he rips my shirt off._

_I don't know what is happening, but now I am naked. _

_For the rest of the night and I scream and cry and get hit for it as he takes the last little bit of innocence that I have._

I snap back into reality to see Trace crouching over me, looking extremely concerned.

"Thorne, what happened?" he asks. He actually seems generally concerned and worried, but I can't take it.

"P-p-p-p-p-p-please get away from me," I say as I start crying and shaking some more. I crawl backwards, but he lays a hand on my wrist.

_I am thrown against the back wall. _

_I hit the wall and then I slump down on the ground._

_I look up, and he kicks me in the face. _

_He draws back and kicks me in the stomach several more times._

_"__You stupid whore! Why can't you get anything right?"_

_He throws shards of broken plate at me._

_He grabs my wrist and drags me up the stairs and to my room. _

_He shoves me onto the bed, pushing on one of my old bruises at the same time._

_I hiss in pain and a tear falls down my cheek. _

_He hits me._

_"__That's one for the noise."_

_He hits me again._

_"__That's another for the tear."_

Trace POV:

I have never seen someone this terrified in my life, and that is saying something. It's as if she is seeing someone else, and not seeing me. When her eyes return to normal, I try to find out what is going on, but she stats getting even more terrified

When I reached out and grabbed her wrist then she started shaking again and her eyes glazed over. Once again, she wasn't really here. Wait, last time I grabbed her wrist, this time I grabbed her wrist. Her wrist must trigger it. I immediately let go, but whatever is happening doesn't end.

I don't know what to do, so I do the only thing I can think of. I pull her close to me.

At first she thrashes around and (needless to say) she is strong. That's when her shirt comes up a little and I see one of the worst bruises I have seen in my life. Her hair also falls away from her face and I can see bruises on her face too.

"Shhhh," I try telling her. Why the hell am I doing this?! "Shhhh, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. Just look at me, look at me. It's okay." She stops screaming and thrashing and just starts shaking.

Thorne POV:

I snap out of it and all of the sudden I am looking into these electric blue eyes. I feel warm and oddly safe. Then I realize that I am in the arms of that dick Trace and I practically jump out of them.

"How long was I out for?" I ask him casually, putting a hand to my pounding head.

"Just about a half an hour," he tells me simply, then we sit in silence for a second. We are sitting next to each other with our backs on the wall. Usually I hate being this close to someone, but I don't feel scared with him.

"So do you want to tell me what just happened?" I ask her, and she just shakes her head.

"Well, you just almost broke my nose, so I think I deserve an explanation," I say to her, and she looks at me this time before saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean, I wasn't seeing you."

"Yeah, I figured that. Go on," I nudge her, but she puts her head back down.

"I-I-I-I just….. I c-c-c-can't…." she stutters. And just like that she gets up and runs out of the room. She's fast, and I can't chase after her.

Thorne POV:

I don't let the tears fall until I jump back onto my bed. I can't believe this; I just lost it in front of the worst person I could possibly lose it in front of. I'm screwed.

**So then there is Trace….. Hm, lets see what will happen! There is the wrist thing that I have been hinting at, and you will get more of an explanation soon. Please leave a review and thanks for reading ;)**

**Kisses**

**-M**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

**I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS IS SO LATE BUT MY COMPUTER IS SCREWING UP AND IT'S ANNOYING! Also, I know that you have been wondering about Trace's back story and the full back story on Thorne, but those will be pieced together in due time. Having said that, a huge part of it is figured out in this chapter, so enjoy! **

Thorne POV:

Katniss comes in to wake me up because I refused to get up for Effie. I got next to no sleep last night, which really sucks.

We all walk down to training together, and as soon as we walk in, I see Trace staring dangerously at me. I look away and pretend not to notice, then spend the rest of the day restraining myself from the knives section because before Trace ruined it, last night was awesome.

The rest of training was pretty bad, and the end was the worst. I got separated from Katniss in the sea of tributes that were trying to exit, and guess who happens to be right behind me? Trace.

He comes up to me and spins me around to face him. I prepare for him to yell at me or something, but to my surprise he doesn't. All he does is whisper in my ear, "Meet me back here tonight at the same time," and then he walks away. He just made this a lot easier for me because there is no way in hell that I am going to meet him.

I walk as quietly as I can down the hallway so that I don't wake anyone. Of course I woke up screaming again, and one minute I was laying in bed swearing that I wasn't going to get up and meet him at the training room, and the next thing I knew I was in the elevator on my way to the training room.

I walk in and I see him standing there, and I immediately regret coming. God I'm so stupid! I am about to just turn around and leave when a knife zings past my head and lodges itself into the nearby wall. I look back to Trace and I see him smirking.

"Let's get started," he says, and I can only just stare at him.

"You know, you might have actually hit me if you knew how to aim," I tell him and he laughs. "Well I wasn't aiming for you, I was aiming for the wall. I couldn't just hit you and kill you."

Just then I slide and grab four knives in my hand and throw three of them at him one by one. They land in the perfect shape of a triangle on the wall behind him, and now it's my turn to smirk.

"Okay, okay, I see how it is," he says. I am waiting for him to react back to me, but he doesn't move. Then all of the sudden he lunges at me and tries to grab the knife. We are both laughing really hard as he wraps his arms around me from behind and lifts me up in an attempt to get the knife away from he. "No, no, no," I laugh, and then one of us trips and I find myself on the ground on top of him.

I press the blade flat on his cheek and I say, "You know that I could cut your face out right now, right?"

He doesn't respond, but in one fluid motion he rolls us over so that he is on top of me. He takes the knife out of my hand, and says, "Oh, but you wouldn't do that."

We stay like that for a second, just breathing heavily, and for some strange unknown reason, I am not freaking out at being this close to someone.

Eventually he gets up and then helps me up and we start training.

We slump down against a wall after a long time of training. We grab some water and then practically collapse. We sit there not talking for a little while, but then of course Trace has to ruin it by saying, "You know we have to talk about what happened last night, right?"

I shake my head and say, "No we don't. That never happened; just forget it."

"I can't just forget it," he tells me, "Something was seriously wrong and you need to tell me what."

"Why do you even care?" I ask as I look down.

He doesn't answer right away, but when he does, he says, "Well, first of all you tried to kill me, I think I deserve some sort of explanation. And also, I have never seen someone that scared in my life, and that is saying something."

The weird thing is, I almost smile at that. "Just tell me," he says, and then I snap back into reality and my walls come back up.

"I-I-I can't," I stumble out as I stand up. I have to get out of the room, but Trace grabs my hand and pulls me back down.

"Just try," he says to me. He looks right into my eyes and I swear that he can see right through me. It freaks me out, but it makes me feels something else too; something that I can't really describe.

I can't help it. I feel like there is no hiding things from him, and I take a deep breath and say shakily, "I was telling the truth when I said that I wasn't seeing you. I was seeing my father."

"What did he do to you?" he asks softly, and I just stumble, "H-he… God what didn't he do to me?"

We sit there in silence before I continue. "My mom killed herself when I was four. Well, they told everyone that it was a suicide because they couldn't tell them the obvious truth because my dad was a Peace Keeper. The truth is my dad shot her and then threw her in the river and anyone with half a brain could see that. Who has bullet holes from jumping into a river? Anyways, after that my dad got worse. He would beat the shit out of me every night, and I pretty much stopped talking when I was 8. I became terrified of even the slightest things."

"Did it get better?" he asks me, but I'm pretty sure he can get the answer. "No, no he didn't," I tell him. "He got worse."

We sit in silence for a minute, but then I keep talking even though I don't want to tell him. I wish I could just keep my mouth shut, but I just can't! "The first time it happened was when I was thirteen. He came into my room drinking and used something to beat me until I was barely even living anymore. I was so hurt that I can't even remember what it was. T-t-then he…. He forced me….. I barely survived that experience. At that point I had the only friend that I have ever had. Her name was Annalyn, and she knew about everything. I even told her about what happened that night. She tried to force me to tell someone else after that, but I swore to her that it would never happen again so I didn't have to tell anyone. I did that partly because I was stupid enough to think that it wouldn't happen again, but mostly because I didn't know anyone else who would care. Then a night or two later it happened again and I went to her to tell her about that. The next day I went back to her house and her family was gone. They had just vanished, meaning they were probably killed by Peace Keepers. Everything got even worse from their on out. He would hurt me for every tear or sound that came out of me."

I realize now that the tears were falling down face and that Trace was holding me. I looked at him and he wasn't showing pity, but more sadness and anger and I can't figure out why.

"And the reason that I'm so good is that my anger was all that I had and I learned to channel it through fighting. The reason I don't show people what I can do is because I don't care about trying to survive the games. Everyone here has something that they have to go back to, but me… I have nothing. I want to die in the arena-"

"No!" he cuts me off and pulls me closer. "Don't say that." And he holds me while I just sit there crying. I don't know why and I hate being held, but for some reason whenever he is there I feel safe in a way that I have never felt before. For some reason, I don't have to have my walls up with him, and I can't decide if that is a good thing or not.

Trace POV:

Why? Why do I give a damn about this girl who is probably the only tribute capable of beating me in the games? She said that she wants to die in the arena, and if that is so then that means my competition is over. However I hate the thought of her dying. I barely even know the girl, yet I feel like I have known her forever. I try to imagine her dying, and I just can't. Yeah, she is beautiful, but I think it is more than that. I hate uncertainty. I have to find out what I feel for her.

Thorne POV:

We stay there until we realize it is three in the morning and we have to get up in less than four hours. I hop up, grab my stuff and I walk over to the door. Just before I leave, he calls after me, "Same time tomorrow night?"

"But we have final evaluations tomorrow," I tell him. "I know," he says back. "It doesn't mean we can't keep practicing." I laugh and then I walk out. I think he takes my laughter as a yes.

**PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW! I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!**

**XOXO**

**-M**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

**So, in this chapter we learn a lot about Trace. Also, a lot happens in this chapter, so I hope you like it ;)**

Thorne POV:

I don't even look over to where I know Trace will be when I enter training room this morning. I simply go with Katniss and watch her shoot. She shoots for a little while, but then she turns to me and says, "Today's the last day of training. I think you should try shooting."

I quickly shake my head no, but she doesn't listen. Shit. "Okay, why don't you try throwing a knife. You can find knives everywhere in the arena, so it will be good for you to practice throwing them."

I can't think of an excuse, so I take the knife from her and position myself to throw it. I then throw it and it misses the hand of the dummy. Of course I missed it on purpose through. I mean, I could have made that shot in my sleep.

"Huh, not bad," she says, and then she lets us go practice making fires.

Travis leaves early from lunch, saying that he will be right back. When he doesn't come back, all three of us go to look for him.

"Where is he?" Katniss asks as we walk down a nearby hallway.

"I think I remember him going this way," Peeta says. We turn at the place that Peeta pointed at. We roundcorner in time to see Trace punch Travis. Hard. Travis falls and we all go to Travis, who is laying on the ground with a bruise growing on his face while he claims that Trace's punch, "Didn't hurt at all." Of course it hurt. I have seen Trace train; he is amazing and he punches so hard that it can kill you.

"What the hell are you doing?" Katniss yells at Trace, but he doesn't look the least bit taken aback by her yelling. "Can't you see? I'm teaching Travis here how not to be an asshole."

Katniss almost punches Trace then, but then Peeta holds her back and Trace leaves with a smirk. "What happened?" Peeta asks Travis as he helps him up.

"I don't know. One minute I was just passing him, and the next he just lunged out and punched me," he says, but I can tell that he is lying. I am good at spotting out liars, and not only is he terrible at lying, but I know that Trace wouldn't just do that. I know that there has to be more to the story.

"Well he is district 2, what can we expect?" Katniss says, and for some reason this makes me sort of mad. I don't know why I want to defend him, but I know that somehow this wasn't all his fault. I know how pushy and annoying Travis can be, and there have been times when I wanted to punch him.

Katniss keeps glaring daggers at Trace for the rest of the training, but every time he sees her he just smirks and trains harder. Katniss is far from stupid, and she knows that he is really really good.

Tonight when I wake up from the nightmares, I don't hesitate for a moment before I change and go down to meet Trace. I have to know what really happened today, and Trace is how I am going to get it.

He is sitting down on the wall that we were sitting on last night, and I go and sit down next to him. Neither one of us says anything, until I decide to break the silence by saying, "Nice punch by the way."

He starts laughing, and I can't help but laugh too. "But seriously what happened today?" I ask him.

He looks down, and when he looks up he is still smiling. However, his smile has changed. Now his smile is sort of sad as he says, "Well, where I live I have a big family. I have an older sister, an older brother, then two younger brothers. None of my siblings showed a lot of promise in the games, so when it was clear that I had a lot of potential, my dad decided to train me. He trained me nonstop from the time that I was 7 until the time when the council decided that I was this year's male volunteer. He taught me to be ruthless and cruel. He told me that I had to shut my emotions off, and that nothing mattered but winning and being the best. He pushed me and pushed me until I had no other option other than to be the best. That's why I'm always so quick to snap. It's because I have been taught my entire life to do what I want to people and have no regrets, and I hate him for teaching me that. Today in the hallway, I tried to stay away from Travis, but he kept following me and talking about how I was a district two kid who always got everything I wanted and had an easy life. I don't know…. I mean, I just lost control and I punched him. I can't stand it when people think that living in 2 is living the rich life, because it's not. We live under the same bad conditions as every other district, except you guys are taught to fear the capitol and we are taught to fight for the capitol."

I subconsciously realize that I have laced my fingers with his, and I'm now looking right into his gorgeous blue eyes. "Well then," I say with a small smile, "It looks like both of our dads suck."

He smiles back at me, then he gets up. "Come on," he tells me as he holds his hand down to me, "We should start training if we want to get to bed any time soon."

I reluctantly take his hand to help me up, but as he pulls me up I fall slightly into him. He catches me, and it is then that I realize just how close we are. I look up at him, and before I have time to react or think or get away, his lips are on mine and something inside of me explodes. My dad may have forced me to have sex with him, but he didn't kiss me, so I guess this is my first kiss.

Something about the way that his lips move on mine makes something inside me stir that I have never felt before in my life; something that I was pretty sure didn't exist in me after everything that I've been through.

The kiss starts out slowly, but I guess it feels just as amazing to him as it does to me, because soon the kiss is passionate and wild as he presses me up against the wall we were just sitting on. Needless to say we didn't get a lot training done the rest of the night.

When I woke up I had officially come to a conclusion about Trace. The facts were that, as much as it kills me to admit it, I am falling for him just like how I would fall off of a cliff: fast and not stopping until death. Death…. As in we are going into the Hunger Games where it is likely that neither one of us will live, and it is insane for us to be doing this because we have literally been sentenced to having no chances of being together.

But right now that doesn't matter, because I am currently sitting in a rather dark room along with all of the other non-victor tributes waiting to start our individual assessments. The victors already went in with the Gamemakers, so now I am sitting here, trying to not listen to whatever the hell Travis is saying.

Eventually Travis gets bored and talks to some tributes from six. I hear them call Trace's name, and I see him get up. He gets up and walks over the waiting Peace Keepers. But on his way I feels him go past me and whisper in my ear, "Don't hold back."

It was so fast that no one noticed it except for me, and I just smile to myself. When it comes time for them to call me, I remember what he says and I know that I am going to go all out. I have been holding back since my mom died, and I am so done with that. Showing the Gamemakers what I can do here is just the beginning,

I walk out into the training room and look at the Gamemakers, and the Havensbee says, "You have ten minutes to show us your chosen skill."

I nod. I can use ten minutes, but I will have to work as quickly as possible. I find every dummy in the room and I line them up in two lines with ten on each side. It doesn't take that long, and I can tell by their faces they have no clue what I am going to do. Good.

I then take a rope and sling it over one of the pipes on the ceiling that goes directly from one side of the room to the other. I climb the fake tree nearby, grab onto the rope, and then pray I don't screw up.

I hold onto the rope as I fly down. When I get to the dummies, I maneuver myself around so that I am able to kick the dummies until they break or fall over. I spin around the rope and knock down several dummies at the same time on the end, and then I hop off of the moving rope. From there I grab ten knives for the remaining ten. I go threw as I throw the knives and use them to slit the dummies' throats. I round-house kick one and then stab the knife in the one across from it. I use everything I can think of until all of the dummies are broken on the ground.

I look up to see the Gamemakers all staring at me with complete shock. I smirk at them, and then I leave the room, hoping I made a memorable impression. I don't care if it was a good one, but I want them to remember me.

We are all sitting in the living room watching the announcers announcing the training scores. The girl from two gets an 11, and of course Trace gets an incredibly impressive 11. I don't really pay attention to any of the other scores until they get to us.

Peeta gets an 11 and so does Katniss. Travis gets a 7 and I hold my breath for my score. "And Thorne Blackburn breaking records with the first ever 12." Haymitch spews his drink everywhere and starts coughing. Katniss and Peeta are sort of freaking out. Travis and Effie are laughing and all I can do is stare at the screen and not move.

I was aiming for good, not the highest score ever given.

"Thorne!" Katniss says to me. "What did you do to get a 12? You told me in training that you couldn't do anything!"

"Well," I say to them. I feel a little guilty about lying to them, but that is honestly not the first thing on my mind right now. "I kind of lied to you then. I'm really sorry, I just was trying to lay low and stay invisible. I swear I didn't mean to score that good-"

She cuts me off by saying, "Don't apologize; that score is incredible. I just want to know how you got that good. I mean, what did you do?"

"I….." I trail off. Its hard to tell part of the story without telling the whole thing, but after I lied to them, I at least have to try to explain.

"I'm small and quick, but really strong. I am really good at hand to hand combat-" I try to say, but Travis cuts me off by saying, "There's no way. You're tiny, you couldn't be good at hand to hand combat."

"Okay, fine," I say with a smirk. "Come at me."

He protests for a second, before I practically make him. "Don't hold back," I tell him, then I smile a little inwardly as I remember that that is what Trace said to me this morning.

He runs at me with his hands outstretched as if he is going to choke me. When he gets close enough, I grab one wrist, twist, then kick his legs out from underneath him and flip him until he is lying on the ground with my hand around his neck.

He is considerably larger than me, and when I let him up, they are all looking at me with awe.

"That's incredible," Peeta says. "I don't think it would get you a 12 though. What else can you do?"

I smile as I say, "I have been throwing knives my whole live. I use them to hunt, and I just throw them to relieve stress and stuff. I haven't missed once since I was seven, except for when I missed on purpose yesterday for Katniss. I hit the target every time."

"I knew it!" Katniss says. I look at her for further explanation, and she just says, "One time, Gale and I were out in the woods hunting and I saw you in a tree. When they called your name, I thought that you might have been who I saw, but now I am sure of it."

I don't really know how to respond to that, so I nod and smile and we continue reveling in the score for the rest of night. It actually gets a little annoying.

An avox comes into my room later that night with a note. The note is from Trace. It says for me to meet him on the roof tonight. I go to bed, and of course wake up from nightmares, then I go to meet him.

Having him hasn't made the nightmares go away, it makes them bearable. I walk up the ladder, and the second he sees me he envelops me into a huge hug and says, "12! That's amazing! Damn, I knew you were incredible but not highest score ever good!"

"Well an 11 is good too," I tell him, he smirks and says, "I know."

That's when I remember that I shouldn't be boosting his ego anymore since it is already huge.

He then lets me down and looks into my eyes. There is no hesitation this time when he leans down and I tilt up and our lips come together. We keep kissing and talking for the rest of the night, until we are about to both fall asleep. But we can't because we would be in so much trouble, so we say goodnight and go back to our separate rooms. I always hate leaving him.

**I had to change the scores a little for everything to work (sorry if that bothered anyone). Hope you like it, and if you do, please click the review button and leave me a lovely review. It doesn't take that long but it means a lot!**

**Love you all**

**-M**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

**Thank you for the reviews, here is chapter 8 and I love how this story is going. **

Thorne POV:

"No," I tell him. "Nope! Sorry, I can't wear that."

Right now Cinna, who I love dearly, trying to get me to wear this dress for the interviews. I have to admit that the dress is beautiful. It is long in the back but shorter in the front and black. It has tendrils of black ivy going up from the bottom of the dress to the top. It looks strapless, but there are black mesh sleeves. It is sparkly too, but not overwhelming.

"Yes, you can, and you will," he tells me.

"But what about the bruises? Everyone will see them if I wear that dress," I tell him, but he shakes his head. "No, the mesh covers them, and for the ones on you legs I have black mesh tights."

I try to find some other excuse, but when I can't come up with one, he whisks me away with the prep team and they start with the long process that they need for my makeup and such. I hate it.

When they let me out of the room, I go straight to the nearest mirror to see what they did to me, and what I see scares the daylight out of me. I don't recognize myself.

I have the dress on along with the tights. I am wearing black boots that make the outfit look even better. As for the makeup that I hated getting put on me…. It makes me looks so different that I can't believe it's me. I can't see the bruises, which is good, but not only does it cover them up, it makes me look almost good. My usually curly and untamed hair is put up on the right side of my head and my curls don't look messy at all as they twirl down my right shoulder. I have dark makeup on, and it makes my usually dull eyes pop.

I walk with my prep team until I get to the rest of our group. I almost gasp when I see them, especially Katniss. Travis looks pretty good in a dark suit, but Peeta looks great in his white one. Katniss on the other hand is absolutely stunning. She is wearing the intricate, white dress that I am guessing was to be her wedding dress. Her hair is up in a complex bun of some sorts, and she is absolutely beautiful.

When they all turn to look at me, I can still feel myself blush under the makeup that I have on. "Y-y-y-you look…." Travis starts to stutter out, but Katniss finishes by saying, "Incredible."

"Thanks," I say back quietly, and then Effie gets us all together to walk down to where we are supposed to stand to wait to be called for the interview. I am going to be honest; I am pretty much freaking out inside. I don't want to be on television and I definitely don't want everyone watching me while I make myself look so bad in front of the entire country.

"I just need a minute," I tell them, and then I walk off before they can say no. I walk through the winding hallways while managing to avoid the Peace Keepers. The one and only good thing that I got out of having my father is that I know all of the behavioral patterns of them and I know how to work against them.

I pass a hall, and down that hall is the District 2 tributes. I make eye contact with Trace for a second then I keep walking, but I know he gets the message. I turn down the hallway and wait. It only takes him around two minutes o get to me, when he does I see that he looks incredible. He is wearing an all black suit with a red tie.

"You look so beautiful," he says to me, "But I am guessing that isn't why you found me."

"I'm freaking out. I just don't see how I can do this," I say as I pace back and forth.

"You can. Just forget that they are all out there and just remember how strong you are," he says.

"But the whole point of these interviews is to get people to like you. There is absolutely nothing likeable about me," I say.

"First of all, breathe. Second, I like you; I like you a lot, in fact I think I'm falling in love with you but that is completely besides the point. The fact is that you must have done something to get me, who doesn't like anyone, to like you. But you don't have to go for their approval, just show them who you are," He tells me. Wait- did he just say that he is falling in love with me?

Okay I can't think about that now. To get that off of my mind, I look at him and take a deep breath. "Okay, okay I think I'm alright now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I can sort of do this now."

He smiles at me and laces our fingers together. He pulls me close and we just hug for a second. He gives my hand one last reassuring squeeze and then we go our separate ways.

When I get back to the group we have a few seconds before the show starts, so I get there just in time. Right before we have to be silent, Haymitch tells me, "I was just telling the others this, but these victors and tributes are angry and they will say anything in order to stop the games. I suggest that you do the same."

I nod, even though I know that attempting to plan out what I am going to say is completely useless because I know I will never stick to that.

The tributes who aren't victors are going first. I don't pay any attention to any other district other than two, and it takes everything in me not to laugh at how arrogant Trace sounds in his interview.

Katniss POV:

Effie leaves us for a few minutes to go bring Thorne to her interview. It is strange how Thorne, the one who is probably the mot nervous of us all, has to go first. When I see her walk out on stage, I see that she is even paler than usual. However, she walks onto the stage with more confidence than I have ever seen in her. She has her head high looking out at the crowds. I have been watching all of the interviews and this is the loudest that the crowds have been for anyone.

Thorne POV:

When I walk onto the stage, I am almost startled by how loud everyone is cheering and how bright the lights are. It takes everything in me not to squint at the lights. Instead I look out over everyone and I walk to Caesar with all of the confidence I can muster.

"Wow!" He says, well, more like screams at me. "Don't you look incredible?"

I smile at little and shake his hand before siting down. "So Thorne, I think that every single person in this entire country is just dying to know how a little thing like you got that score! I mean, I could hardly believe it when I saw that 12 come up with your name!"

"Well, I don't think I can tell you just how I got the score, because I don't know how I did. The only thing I am going to say about it is that I don't think anyone, myself included, was expecting it," I tell him. I'm trying not to glare at him. He is so happy and loud that it annoys me.

"Ah yes of course!" he says/screams at me. The he leans forward towards me and opens his mouth like he is going to say something to me. Without even thinking, I lean backwards and I hear the crowd (and Caesar) laugh.

"You seem to me like sort of a mystery Thorne, so please tell me, what do you think of being here in the Capitol and about to honor your district in such a special edition of The Hunger Games?" he asks me, and I can feel the crowd waiting for my response.

I think about what Trace said, about being myself in the interview and about not caring if people like me. Then I think of what Haymitch told me about saying anything to stop the games. I combine the two and the end result is the thing I say next.

Katniss POV:

"Do you want my honest opinion Caesar?" Thorne asks Caesar. Wait, what is she doing?

"Yes of course," he says back, and then Thorne leans in towards him more with a smirk on her face. Oh no, this can't be good.

"I think the whole concept of the games is completely and entirely sick to begin with, but now you have decided to put the only people to ever have survived the games in the arena? It just keeps getting worse and worse."

The crowd is dead silent. I cannot believe she just said that. Does she want her entire family and everyone that she cares about to be killed? What the hell is she thinking?

"Well, I guess that is one way of looking at it," he says. I can tell he is getting nervous and is trying to find a good way to change the subject.

"Okay then," Caesar says, and then he asks her, "So how does the Capitol differ from your life in District 12? What do you think is the biggest difference?"

Why? Why did he have to ask that question when I am sure that she will use it to speak out against the Capitol. Well, not that it isn't true, she just doesn't understand what those things will cause. And what about her dad, isn't he a Peace Keeper? Why would she of all people want to speak out against the Capitol?

"Well, District 12 is a lot more real and is how the rest of the country actually is. The Capitol is a load of beautiful bullshit that just isn't the truth. However, the people here are pretty nice for the most part," she says, and she end it with her signature smirk. I think I can actually hear Haymitch thinking, "What the hell is she doing she?! Is she absolutely out of her damn mind?!" because that is what we are all thinking.

Caesar clearly doesn't know how to answer that, so he just says, "Well it looks like our time is up. It was lovely meeting you and good luck."

She smiles at him one last time and walks off the stage waving angelically to the crowd. I don't know if I am seeing and hearing this right, but I think they are cheering for her even louder than they were before. How on earth is this happening?

When she walks off the stage, Haymitch, Peeta and I just stand there staring at the screen, not believing what we just saw.

Thorne POV:

I went out there and I didn't hold back. I said what everyone is thinking because I realized on that stage that I am the only one who can say it. I don't have anyone that President Snow can hurt if I speak out against him. I mean, he can hurt my dad all he wants and I would NOT complain. Everyone else here can't say those things because he will hurt people who they care about, but everyone I care about is getting thrown into the arena tomorrow.

I walk up and sit next to the district 11 male tribute in my chair in the back of the stage. When I sit down, the guy looks at me and then whispers, "You did good kid, I just hope you know that you just dug yourself down deeper."

I open my mouth to ask him what he means by deeper, when the crowd applauds and I see Travis walk out on stage. He is laughing and is just soaking the crowd in. He actually looks pretty stupid. "Hello Travis!" Caesar says and Travis shakes his hand.

They sit down and the first thing he says to Travis is, "So, I think that everyone out there in the audience is just dying to know the answer to one little question. That is, I know that this may have nothing to do with either of you, but your district has been known for love recently if you know what I mean. Do you think that anything is going to happen to you and the lovely Thorne who I was just speaking with?"

No. No no no no no no no. There is no fucking way on this entire planet. But surely Travis knows that right? I mean, the topic has never come even close to coming up. Besides, I have to glare at Trace because I can hear him laughing in his head at this.

"Well I don't know Caesar. I mean, she is very beautiful and I have loved getting to know her, and somehow I think that being together romantically might just have been in our future, we were both not in this situation."

I want to kill him. I want to hammer his head in then burn him with fire. What the hell is wrong with him?!

But then, the crowd does something that surprises me. They all start to boo and hiss, and I don't know why. Then it occurs to me that they are trying to say that they don't want us to go in the games because they want to see what is going to happen between us, which is going to be nothing. This is insane.

"Oh well, that sure is a shame," Caesar says, and I don't even listen to the rest of the interview because I am so mad.

The victors decide to really lay it on thick. The girl from one is constantly crying and the boy is talking about how the people in the audience "Will always be our family."

Beetee uses some sort of smart approach where he says, "If the Quarter Quell were written in the law by men, then certainly it can be unwritten."

Finnick (being the 'ladies man' that he is) delivers a message to his one true love, making the girls n the audience go crazy. However, the message seems real and true, so I doubt that it is to anyone in the Capitol.

Johanna's is probably my favorite. I have talked to her a little in training and she seems a lot like me. Her interview just added to that theory because she said, "You know Caesar, I am angry. The deal was that if we won the Hunger Games, we were safe the rest of our lives. And I'm getting totally screwed over because now you want to kill me again. Well fuck and that and fuck anyone who anything to do with this!"

The next one that I bother to pay attention to is Katniss's. She comes out in the wedding gown and the crowd goes wild.

"You look fabulous!" he screams as she takes her place on the stage next to him. When the noise dies down, he starts saying, "Now Katniss, this is a very big and very emotional night for us all, don't you think?"

"Oh don't go crying on me now Caesar," she says back and the crowd laughs. After that he asks her, "I think we are all a little disappointed, more than a little disappointed, that a certain wedding did not take place. Having said that, am I correct in assuming that this would have been the gown you would have worn on that day?"

"Yes," she says, "President Snow thought that everyone would like to see it."

Caesar says back, "Well President Snow, as usual, was right. HAHAH I love it! Would you do us the honor, please?"

She nods and then goes out and starts to spin. I remember watching her do this on TV last year. I remember how the bottom of her dress caught into flames as she turned. However, this time the flames don't stop at the bottom. They engulf the entire dress until the white wedding dress is gone and is replaced by a smaller, but just as beautiful, black one. She then spreads her arms and there are long, beautiful wings that cause the crowd to applaud the loudest that they have applauded all night.

"Woah! What is it? It's like a bird; it's got feathers," Caesar says, but then Katniss says, "Like a Mockingjay."

"Well I think that your stylist surely has outdone himself with such theatricality. Cinna, take a bow," I see Cinna stand up and bow and I know that he has probably just sentenced himself to death. I find this sad because I know that Cinna is a great person and I have loved getting to know him.

Kantiss comes up and sits in her seat next to Chaff, the district 11 male victor. Next, Peeta comes on stage.

The first thing Caesar says to him is, "So Peeta… The wedding, the marriage, never to be?"

"Well actually we got married, in secret," Peeta says and the crowd gasps while hold back laughter.

"Do tell!"

"We want our love to be eternal. Katniss and I….. we've been luckier than most, and I wouldn't have any regrets at all…. if it weren't for….. if it weren't for….."

"If it weren't for what?" Caesar asks. I would like to know what myself, however I am guessing it will not be good.

"If it weren't for the baby."

The crowd roars and screams I actually have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and ruining everything.

I hear the people crying and screaming that they have to cancel the games now. Caesar says, "Alright, alright, just settle down. This is news to all of us."

He then whispers something in Peeta's ear and Peeta comes up and sits next to Katniss. He hugs her, causing the crowd to yell louder. Than, I don't know who, but someone starts something that is the last straw. All of the victors and tributes join hands and we lift them up. We are standing as one, and when Caesar sees it, the last hope he had of calming the people is gone. The crowd in in hysterics and eventually they just turn the stage lights off and cut out the broadcast. There is complete and total chaos and it is hilarious.

**Sorry I couldn't update sooner, but it was long so I hope that made up for it. Please leave me some awesome reviews and love you all1!**

**-M**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

**Hey guys! So, i have some news. This is going to be my last chapter until July 12 because i am going to camp and i do not have my computer at camp. PLEASE do not unfollow or unfavorite or stop liking this story because i will update by July 13! Until then, here is the chapter and i hope you like it enough to leave me a review!**

Thorne POV:

We are all sitting in the living room, not saying a word. I guess none of us know what to say after what happened tonight. Katniss eventually breaks the silence by saying, "There's no way they'll cancel."

No one answers her, but soon Haymtich comes back in to confirm that the games are not canceled. We don't talk for a while after that, until Haymitch turns to Peeta and says, "The baby bomb was a stroke of genius Peeta."

Then Katniss turns to me and says, "You really are the bravest kid ever, aren't you? I mean, that is of course what everyone is thinking, but I hope you realize that now, your family is dead or worse. President Snow can't take your actions out on you, he is going to take them out on everyone that you care about."

I smile a sick smile inside, but I keep my face blank as I tell him, "I don't care."

They all look astonished and now they probably think I'm some sort of monster. If only they knew the half of it, but I will not let that happen because no one else is finding out.

Haymitch gets over looking at me like I'm crazy and rolls his eyes before telling us, "I guess this is goodbye for now."

Effie pipes in then and says, "I have gifts for the boys. For Haymitch, a gold bangle. For Travis, this gold chain necklace, and for Peeta, the amulet we talked about."

They all thank Effie, and then we start with the goodbyes.

We all stand up and form a line to hug them goodbye. I am last, and when everyone is done hugging them, I hug Effie then she walks out of the room and I move to hug Haymitch. I'm surprised that I hardly even flinch when I hug them. I guess I really have grown to like them.

I am walking out of the living room door as Haymitch calls from behind me, "Oh by the way Thorne," I turn to look at him, and this is the most serious expression I have ever seen on his face. "Katniss was right when she said you're the bravest kid ever."

I look at him, confused, but he says with a sad smile, "I knew your father; we used to be drinking buddies and when he drinks…. He cannot control what he says."

My face turns to stone and I gulp. Oh God please no!

With that he doesn't say anything, he just smiles at me and leaves the room. I walk to my room feeling numb and collapse on my bed.

Of course there are nightmares because tonight doesn't differ from any other night, so I wake up screaming and I throw on some clothes to go meet Trace. We agreed to meet on the roof tonight, so I head straight there.

Katniss POV:

Peeta comes into my room and gets into my bed next to me. I snuggle up close to him and he holds me. All of the sudden we hear a scream. Peeta bolts up and is about to spring out of bed to go see who screamed, but I hold him down and say, "Don't, it happens every night."

"Who's screaming?" he asks.

"Thorne. She wakes up screaming every night, probably from nightmares about the games, which makes no sense at all because she isn't afraid of anything. And what the hell is wrong with her? I told her that he was going to kill everyone she cares about was going to be killed because of what I said and she didn't even care. Its strange," I say. He just nods and says, "I think we all know that there is a lot she is keeping from us, starting with the fact that she is capable of getting the highest score ever in training. I think that we'll find out soon enough though."

I nod, and then he says, "Let's go to sleep, we have a big big day tomorrow." He mimics Effie while saying the last part and I laugh, then we do our best to try and sleep.

Thorne POV:

I climb up the ladder and onto the roof, just like I did the first night that I was here. Only this time when I see the familiar blonde hair, Trace doesn't run away from me. He comes over to me and lifts me up in a hug. "You're certifiably insane, but that was incredible!" he tells me. I laugh and then he pulls me in for a heart-stopping kiss. I mean, all of his kisses make my heart freeze in my chest. I will never ever get tired of kissing him.

When we come up for air, I say, "You sounded like a dick in yours." He laughs and we sit down on the ground of the rooftop. I sit in his lap and he holds me as we talk.

"You realize that we need to talk about what's going to happen tomorrow, right?" he says. I nod and he continues. "I'm going to stay with the careers, and I'm not going to come anywhere near you. I will do my best to protect you and keep them away from you, okay?"

"I don't want you to do that," I tell him.

"Well too bad."

I can't help but laugh, but then I stop laughing as I remember that I have to tell him about Haymitch. "You know Haymitch told me something tonight?" He looks at me questioningly and I say, "He knew my dad. He says that they used to drink together, and that whenever my dad would get drunk he couldn't….. control what he was saying."

I turn my head to look at him and he looks startled as he asks. "Do you think he knows?"

"I don't think he knows everything; I just think he knows the bits and pieces that my dad told him while they were both wasted."

He nods and kisses my head. "It's okay," he tells me, and nod. We sit there for a little while, just trying to be as close to each other as we can.

We are silent, before Trace says, "You know that night when I first met you? When we had both snuck down into the training room?"

"Of course I do," I tell him, and he continues. "Do you remember how I told you that I had known what you were doing because I had been watching Katniss and you were with her?"

"Yeah, I remember. You were watching her because everyone knows that she is incredible and you wanted to see just how good she was for yourself," I say, but to my surprise he shakes his head. "No, I lied."

I look at him questioningly, and then he smiles a little and says, "I wasn't watching Katniss; that was the just the first excuse I could come up with. The truth is that I was watching you."

"Why would you be watching me?"

"Because I thought you were beautiful, and because I knew that from the first time that I saw you that you were different. There was just something about you, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of you."

I feel the tears well up in my eyes at this point, and I smile at him and I say, "Really?"

He nods. I turn myself around so that I am still sitting in his lap, but now my legs are straddling his waist and I am looking directly at him. "You know when you said that you were falling in love with me at the interviews?" I ask him.

He laughs and says, "I was hoping that you missed that, but yes, I remember."

"Well, the truth is that I didn't think that I am capable of loving, or even caring about anything because of what my dad did. I thought that I would never get away from him and all of the things he has done to fuck me up as badly as he has. But so much can happen in so little time. In just about a week, I have gotten to like you more than anyone else I have ever met in my life, and I know now that I am completely and totally in love with you, and there is absolutely nothing that anyone can say to me that is going to change my mind."

He looks deep into my eyes and brings a thumb up to wipe away the tears that I realize have come out of my eyes. "I lied too. I'm not falling in love with you; I am in love with you."

Just like that our lips crash together. The kiss is passionate, and we aren't holding back. He leans back and I fall on top of him. My hands tangle themselves into his hair and I feel his clinging desperately to my waist.

I feel his tongue in my mouth and I don't hesitate before I tangle mine in his. It feels so right and so good; it lights something in me that I have never felt before, something that I don't want to stop.

We both murmur 'I love you' against each others' mouths as we make out all through the night.

Haymitch POV:

I am meeting with all of the tributes that have agreed to help us get Katniss out. Plutarch comes in and says, "I have news that will change all of our plans."

We all look to him, and he says, "I just received word from some people in the districts that are filling me in on what is happening there, and ever since the interviews, the not only see Katniss as a leader, but the little girl Thorne as well."

"Well what are we supposed to do now? How do we even know that she will survive in the arena? She's tiny, and even though she got a 12, I don't think she will do very well," Finnick says, and I almost laugh at that.

"I know Thorne. I have known her indirectly since she was a little girl and I will tell you that if you honestly think that, you have just made the biggest mistake of your life. This girl is a fighter, and she never gives up. She is sure as hell the biggest competitor that any of you will have in there, and you do not want to get on her bad side. But she doesn't trust people at all, so you have to be aware of that," I tell them, and now they look pretty scared of her.

"I saw her in her individual assessment," Plutarch says, "And I think that Haymitch is completely right, if not he is understating what she can do. I have never heard of anyone doing what she did, and it was incredible. I think that it is in our best interest to rework our plan a little so that we get her out as well."

We all agree, and then we spend the rest of the night reworking everything.

Thorne POV:

I wake up in my room to my stylists buzzing around me and bright lights streaming in. I smile to myself as I remember last night and I can't help but smile, even as I get ready to go into an arena full of people who want to kill me.

I eat a little at breakfast and I drink some water while we are flying to the arena because I know that there might not be a lot of either in the arena.

A woman comes around to each tribute with some sort of machine in her hand. When she gets to me, she tells me to roll up my sleeve. I ask her why and she replies, "This is your tracker; it keeps track of you in the arena." She inserts it into my arm and then moves onto the next tribute.

When I get dressed, I see that it is a tight fitting, silver, wet suit-looking thing.

"This probably means that the arena has something to do with water, so keep that in mind," Cinna tells me. He is walking me down to my pod that I will have to go in to enter the arena, when I look down one of the halls and I see Trace standing there by himself. I look over at him, and I tell myself to stop looking, but I can't.

"Go," Cinna says all of the sudden. Confused, I look at him and he says, "I see the way he looks at you and the way you look at him. You are both very good at hiding it, but I see it. So go to him and tell him goodbye one last time."

My eyes go wide at hearing him say this, and I smile and say, "Thank you," before running down the hall to wear he is standing. He looks at me and I jump into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and kissing him with every once of passion that I have. He swings us around and then he sets me down, breaking the kiss.

"I love you," he tells me, and I say, "I love you too," back, before he kisses me one more time and I run back down the hall to Cinna. It was over just like that, but it meant the world to me. Cinna and I continue to walk to my pod, and he leaves me just before I get in. He says that he has to go to Katniss, which I am okay with.

I hug him, and I say, "Thank you so much for everything."

He nods and says, "You are the bravest person I have ever known and I will ever know. Don't lose that bravery in the arena, alright?"

I nod, and then he kisses me on the cheek and leaves. I get into the pod and breath heavily and hold my mom's necklace as I wait. This is it.

Katniss POV:

Cinne hugs me, and says, "I'm still betting on you, girl on fire," before he closes the door to my pod. I almost take a relaxing breath, until I hear a door opening and Peace Keepers storm into the room.

"No!" I scream as I watch with horror as I they beat Cinna to a pulp right in front of me. This is all my fault, it is all because of the dress. I am screaming and crying my head off and I see his blood on the outside of my pod. They eventually his barely alive body away, leaving me alone and screaming. I start to go up and I know that I have to get myself together. I breathe and try to wipe the tears from my face as I see the bright lights and I ascend into the place that I know I will die in.

Thorne POV:

The bright light makes me squint as I go up into the arena. When I first get up there I can't see anything, but I can feel cool water against my feet. As soon as my eyes adjust, I see that I am on a dirt platform in the water and that I am in a tropical rainforest of some sort. Oh shit.

I hear the count down, but all I can focus on is the fact that this is probably the only place that I didn't think would be an arena. 5… 4…. 3… 2…. 1…. BOOM! I jump into the water when the cannon goes off, and all I can think is oh shit.

**Sorry it's a cliffhanger! But you will just have to wait three weeks. Just for the record, Trace and Thorne did not have sex on the rooftop in case anyone was confused about that. PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW TO COME BACK TO!**

**Love you all so much!**

**-M**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: **

**Hey guys! I'm back from camp! I had SUCH an amazing time, but I missed writing and I am so happy to be back. This next chapter is going to be epic since they are officially in the arena, and I think we all know what that means. Enjoy and it would be so great to have some reviews!**

Thorne POV:

I don't hesitate for a second after the canon goes off. I dive straight into the water and swim as fast I can to the cornucopia. I'm scared as hell, but the water feels so good. When I go under the water, I am able to drown out the nightmare that I am living in, even if it is only for a short amount of time. I never really learned how to swim back at home, so I am just going with my instincts. However, I think it's working because I am slicing through the water and, from what I can tell, I am one of the people that is closest to the cornucopia.

I eventually get to the edge and I leap out of the water and onto the ground. From there I only have to run a short distance to get to the weapons. I am about to reach for the nearest knife when I feel someone grab my from behind and hold me in a death grip. I don't even think before I elbow him in the stomach and he falls into the water. I didn't even elbow him that hard, so I don't know why he fell so easily. I turn around to see Katniss lowering her bow, and I know that she shot him.

I nod in thanks and then grab a black backpack that I find. I fill it with knives and other various things. I don't really care what I grab as long as it looks sharp and dangerous. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of electric blonde hair and I look to see Trace, who is standing a short distance away from me grabbing a sword. We make eye contact for a moment. It feels like forever, but I know it only lasts for a split second.

When I look away, I see a spear flying directly for my stomach. I roll away and it hits whatever is behind me. I reflexively throw a knife that was in my hand into the guy who threw the spear's stomach and he falls dead.

"Thorne!" I hear someone call my name and I turn to see Travis coming towards me. He catches up to me and then we start running together. "We have to find Katniss and Peeta!" He screams at me, trying to yell over all of the noise of the fighting that is going on around us. I nod and we keep running until I see Katniss. The strange thing is, along with Katniss, I see the district 4 male tribute Finnick. "Thorne, Travis!" she calls to us, and we come rushing over. Finnick turns to see us, but not before I have a knife aimed and ready to slit his throat.

"Woah, you don't want to kill me," he says. I am about to roll my eyes and slit his throat anyways, when I see something around his wrist. It's a gold bangle. Now it makes sense why Katniss was with him; he's our ally. Thanks a lot Haymitch.

I reluctantly let him go and he smirks at me. "I guess you've figured it out by now," he says, and I roll my eyes and walk over to Katniss.

"Come on," she says, "We have to go find Peeta."

We split up and look in different places until I hear Finnick yell, "He's over here! Mags found him!" I then remember that Finnick and Mags stick together like Haymitch told us when we were watching the reapings, so I guess we will have the old lady as our ally as well. I really don't mind that though.

I run over to where Finnick and Mags are pointing and I see two people struggling in the water, one of which is clearly Peeta. I watch them fight for a second before the both go under and it is obvious that one of them didn't make it. I hole my breath as Finnick swims out towards where Peeta and the other tribute were just fighting. Suddenly, I see Peeta emerge from the water and I, along with everyone else, breathe a sigh of relief. With the help of Finnick, Peeta swims over to us. As soon as he gets to where we are standing, Katniss pulls him in and holds him close.

I know that their love isn't supposedly real, but I can see how she feels for him. Even if she doesn't know it yet, her love for him isn't fake anymore, and his love for her never was.

"We have to get going," I say, and we all make our way from the cornucopia and into the rain forest. As we run through the wet, green trees, all I can think about is Trace. I know he is alive' he is too strong to have died during the bloodbath. And while it is reassuring to know he is alive, I don't know anything else and that frustrates me. Is he with the rest of the careers? Is he hurt?

I hear the first boom of the cannon and we all stop and crouch behind some plants to listen to how many died in the bloodbath. By the time the cannons have finished, we had counted 16 deaths.

It seems like a lot, but to me it isn't enough.

"Come on," Finnick says, "We need to keep going."

We walk through the forest while looking for signs of fresh water or food, but after walking for what feels like hours, we still haven't seen any. We are all getting thirsty, but we still keep going. We are walking through the forest with Peeta in the lead, when I hear Katniss scream from behind me, "Peeta don't-"

But Peeta hits something and he flies backwards, landing on the ground and not moving. I realize then that he hit the force field. "Peeta!" Katniss says dazedly as she makes her way over to his motionless body. "He's not breathing!" she cries. She is panicking. Oh please don't let him be dead.

Finnick pushes Katniss away and I start to think that Finnick is going to deliver Peeta's death blow and that he isn't our ally after all, but then does the strangest thing. He leans down and puts his lips on Peeta's. I just watch because I'm too confused to do anything else. He comes up after a few seconds and then start pressing on Peeta's lungs. He repeats the process a few more times before Peeta's eyes flutter open and he shutters back to life.

"Peeta! Oh my God!" Katniss cries as she holds him in her arms and kisses him. She really does love him, just like I thought earlier.

We wait a while for Peeta recover. His recovery would probably be easier if we had some water, but we don't so we just have to use what we have. While we are waiting, I climb a tall tree nearby and scout out the arena. From what I can see, the arena is pure beach and tropical rainforest with no other visible water sources other than the ocean on the beach, which clearly isn't an option.

I tell the others this, but we are all too tired to figure it out today. Katniss found some strange rat-like animal and we ate that for dinner along with some plants that Katniss said she thought were edible. It was a small yet filling dinner. After that we let Peeta rest while the rest of us stay up and wait to see those who died in the sky. Eventually, we hear the anthem play and we see the capitol seal shining up in the sky. I watch all 16 of the faces appear, but I don't really recognize any. Just like I thought, Trace isn't up there.

Finnick decides to go check something out and Katniss, Mags, Travis and I wait back at the camp that we have set up. Mags is putting small braids into my pony tail while we listen to Travis and Katniss talking. Her frail, old hands are nimble and quick and good at braiding. I guess she has had a lot of practice with tying things in district 4, so braiding is probably easy for her.

Just then, I hear crashing through the woods nearby and I see Finnick coming back through the woods. With him, I see a flash of blonde that I recognize immediately. No, please no.

"I found him walking around sort of near our camp. There were no other careers with him, but I figured they would have to be close by," he says, and I feel every ounce of color drain from my face when I see the knife that Finnick has pointed at Trace's back. We lock eyes for a second and I see his beautiful blue eyes looking at me. He looked away all too quickly.

I could see that he didn't look that bad. He was dirty and sweaty, just like the rest of us, and he had a small cut on the top of his forehead, but other than that he looked just the same as he had this morning.

"Well then why did you bring him back here? Why didn't you kill him immediately?" Travis asked, and I suddenly had a strange urge to punch him.

"Because he can probably give us information on the careers," he says, and Katniss walks over to Finnick and Trace.

"Good thinking," she says, then pauses to look at him. He doesn't look scared at all, instead, he is smirking in his arrogant way and it would make me smile, but then I remember the situation and I don't.

"Tell me everything you know," she says, and his smirk gets bigger.

"I know that they are on the other side of the water, and they are on the beach a long ways away from them," he says, then adds, "And I'm not with them nor am I working with them. I'm on my own."

What? He isn't working with them? What is doing?

"I don't believe you," Travis says, and judging by the tone of his voice, Travis is just trying to show off. At that moment, Peeta walks up to everyone and starts to watch the whole thing go down with everyone else.

"I really don't give a damn," Trace says back, looking Travis directly in the eyes with the most arrogant look that Trace has on his face. That actually did make me smile for a second, but then I hid it before anyone saw.

Travis doesn't say anything back, but Katniss rolls her eyes and says, "I do, but it doesn't matter. He isn't any use to us, just kill him."

"No!" I say, a little too quickly. They all turn to look at me, and I put my façade back up and I think of the best excuse that I can.

"I mean, he's from district 2, he knows how they think and what their habits and plans are. They trust him, but clearly he doesn't trust them-"

Katniss cuts me off and says, "How do you know that he doesn't trust them?"

"If he was in an alliance with them, then why would he have left them. Also, it's obvious that he doesn't like them. Just ask him," I say, and I just hope that they buy it.

They turn to look at him and he says, "It's true. I wouldn't work with those idiots if my life depended on it."

He is rather brazen, but he is nonetheless putting up a good front. I am sure that they believed it.

"That's a load of bullshit," Travis says, but then Peeta says slowly, "I actually don't think it is." We all turn to look at Peeta with surprise, but when he explains it makes more sense.

"I know liars, and I can see that he really hates them and that he isn't just faking it. I don't know how trust worthy he is, but I think that Thorne has a really good point. He knows what they are going to do because they think he is loyal to them. He also is clearly good at fighting because he's from 2. I think we can use both of those things. I think we should keep a close eye on him and have him ally with us."

"But let's not forget how he punched me in the face before the games-" Travis starts to say, but I interrupt him by saying, "Oh shut up Travis! Everyone knows that that was so your fault."

He was uncharacteristically silent after I said that to him.

We sit therein silence for a second while we think things over and I pray inside of my head that they ally with him. Finally, Finnick says reluctantly, "Fine, we'll keep the admittedly well-trained whack job."

And with that he releases him. "You seem to have forgotten that I am standing right here," Trace says. Finnick says back, "I didn't forget, I just chose not to care. We'll allow you to ally with us, but I am warning you now. Don't even think about trying anything."

After saying that, Finnick goes to take the first watch while the rest of us go to sleep. I am able to Trace a little bit away from the others for a split second, and in that time, he whispers, "Thanks."

"Of course," I whisper back. We both said it so softly and subtly that there is no way that the cameras would pick up on it. I feel his hand brush lightly against mine, and I know that it is the equivalent of him kissing me. I want to kiss him desperately right now, but I know that I can't.

Katniss shakes me awake a little while later. When I ask her what's going on, she says that they found water. I wake Trace and we all go over to where there is a metal object in a tree. There is water coming from the tree, and it tastes and feels great. I go back to bed after that and I sleep better now that I am hydrated again. As I fall asleep, my last thought is that if I have any nightmares than I am screwed in all sorts of different ways.

**What did you think?! PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!**

**XOXO!**

**-M**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

**Hey guys! Sorry I couldn't update sooner. I had to drive for 2 days in a car with my family and there was no time, but I am updating now ;D No reviews on the last chapter, but that's okay because there is always this chapter. Please read, enjoy, and review!**

Katniss POV:

I am sitting against a tree with Travis keeping watch, and I can feel my eyes getting droopy. But then I hear something; I hear a loud bong. I jump up and listen to the 11 other bongs that follow it. "What does that mean?" Travis asks me, but all I can do is shrug my shoulders. Maybe 12 for each of the districts? Then I get scared again when I see a huge flash of lightning come down from the otherwise clear sky and strike a tree on a hill. What was that?

It's about an I am sitting against a tree with Travis, keeping watch while the others are asleep. I should be paying attention to whatever Travis is doing (since he is doing something a little ways off from me) but I can't stop thinking about what happened with that guy Trace. Though I didn't say anything, I was curious as to why Thorne- who hates almost everyone- was so quick to jump in and save him. She had a good point with the fact that he could help us, but somehow I keep feeling as if there was some other reason that she isn't telling us.

"Hey Katniss, come over here!" I hear Travis call. "There's fog coming. Come on it looks refreshing."

I hear him get up and I immediately jump up and follow him. Sure enough, there is a thick fog slowly drifting towards us. Travis is walking towards it. It is then that I realize the fog is probably some sort of trick. I start to panic.

"Travis!" I call. He is reaching a hand out towards the fog, but he pulls back and looks at me. "Let me go first, just to see if it's safe," I tell him, and he listens. I slowly reach my hand out for the fog. My fingers are reaching out until the tips of them finally meet the fog, and when they do, I recoil in blistering pain.

I turn around and scream, "Run!" at Travis and we both start to run back to the others and shake them awake.

"What's going on?" I hear Thorne ask. I ignore the horrific pain in my hand and I manage to say, "Run the fog is poisoned!"

She hops up and I see Trace hop up with her. I have to say that I am actually sort of surprised that he stayed and didn't run. We all run, but it hard escaping something like fog. Mags gets on Finnick's back, and I am worried about Peeta. I don't know how long he can last doing this. He is still weak from his heart stopping.

Thorne POV:

I am running with everyone else. I am probably the fastest of the group, but there is no way that I am running full speed and leaving everyone behind. At one point I fall a little and my shoulder comes into contact with the fog. It is pain like I haven't felt before. It feels like every nerve in my shoulder is on fire, and NOT in a good way at all.

I feel like falling when the fog hit my leg. I feel like falling and never getting back up again and just letting the fog consume me. However, I can't just give up and die like that; I refuse. So I grit my teeth and keep running and fighting. We are running for who knows how long.

I hear Katniss cry out behind me and I turn and look back. Peeta is on the ground and isn't going to be able to get back up. I know that he must not be fully recovered from earlier today. I stand by where they are, and I see the fog coming closer and closer with each passing moment.

"We have to go but I can't carry him!" Katniss cries, desperate for something. Then I see Mags get off of Finnick's back.

"Mags, what are you doing?" I ask. Of course she doesn't say anything back. Instead, she kisses Finnick full on the mouth.

"Mags?" Finnick says in a shaking voice. The old woman doesn't turn back before she starts walking towards the fog. "Mags!" Finnick screams, but she doesn't stop. I see her disappear into the fog and a moment later, the canon sounds, signaling her death. I find that I am sad that she is dead, but I know that if we don't go soon then her sacrifice was for nothing.

"We have to go guys," I tell them with a grave look. Peeta gets on Finnicks back and we all get up and start running, barely missing being consumed by the fog.

The fog is now right on our heels, and we have to run at full speed if we are to stay alive. I feel faint and I can't see anything around me except for a spinning void of darkness. But I keep going because I can't stop. All of the sudden I feel myself falling. I feel strong arms grab me as I fall, and I know its Trace, however I also can feel that he's falling with me.

I feel the ground, and when I open my eyes again, I can see that all of the remaining 7 of us are lying on the ground and just watching as the fog gets closer and closer. I wait for death, and I know that this is the end.

But then something changes. Right before the fog hits me, it stops and presses up. It's as if there is a wall of invisible glass that's keeping it from going any further. The next second, all of the fog vanishes completely.

We all look at each other and breathe heavily. I am trying to get my breath back. I am winded from all of the running and the pain that the fog caused. I dare to just peak at the wounds from the fog, and I see that they are like blisters.

From behind me, I hear a cry of pain and then a sigh of relief. I turn my head as best as I can to see Katniss in a pool of water. She is almost smiling, which is strange given the fact that we were all almost killed a few minutes ago by poisonous fog.

"The water," she croaks out. "The water helps."

I will do anything at this point to make the pain go away, so I crawl over to the waters edge and dive in without hesitation. As soon as the water hits me the pain gets so much more intense. I scream under water as the pain just keeps getting worse and worse. What the hell was Katniss talking about?! This makes it worse!

Then all at once the pain stops and I feel instant relief. I go up to the surface and take a huge, calming breath of air. I then lose myself in the water. I am aware that Trace and Peeta come in not long after me, but both Travis and Finnick have to be forced. I however take no part in that. I keep going under the water and coming back and up, and using the water to just help me relax for just one little moment.

I come up for air again, and this time I actually open my eyes and look around. I see Katniss, washing off the last of her fog-caused wounds in the water. I see Travis and Trace arguing a short distance away, and I see Finnick siting on the side of the water, probably grieving the loss of Mags. I start to exit the water, and when I reach the edge, I see Peeta. He is oblivious to the fact that there is some sort of giant, orange monkey right in front of him.

"Peeta," I say very cautiously, he turns his head to look at me, and he still doesn't see the beast.

"Peeta, walk very slowly over to the rest of us," I say. That is when he looks straight in front of him, only to see the giant fangs of the giant monkey that he hadn't seen before. I like Peeta, but he must have absolutely no sense of what is going on around him because the monkey was very close to him for a long time and he didn't see shit.

He keeps looking directly at the thing as he backs up slowly. I see more in the tree line and now I am starting to panic. I think that there is a possibility that they aren't friendly, and a very large possibility at that. He keeps looking at the thing that's right in front of him as he backs up closer to the rest of us. But then, something shifts and the monkeys don't stay where they were anymore. Now, the charge straight and fast and right towards us with a look of murder in their eyes.

It's chaotic. Katniss tries to shoot as many as she can, but I can tell that there will be point in the near future when there are too many of them for her to protect us from. They keep running closer, and as they come, I try everything I can think of. I stab them, throw knives at them, even try to tackle them and then kill them. They die of course, but as soon as one dies there are many more for me to try and kill. They just keep coming and coming and we have to keep killing and killing. But I keep on fighting.

I see more and more of those things coming towards us. I shove a knife into one of them, but just as I do I myself falling down, tackled by one of those things. I struggle with on my back. I can feel its claws scratching me, and I have to get this thing off now, or its going to kill me. Then all of the sudden I feel it go limp and I shove it off to see one of Katniss's arrows buried in it's back. I grab it and mentally thank her.

I see Katniss being held underwater by one, and I stab it so she can get up before she drowns. She gets up and I give her the arrow that she used to shoot the monkey. After that I turn around to survey everyone, and what I see almost makes my heart stop. I see Trace getting attacked by three monkeys at once. Oh shit. I don't even think about what anyone will think; I just see the person I love in trouble and I sprint over.

Katniss POV:

I look at Thorne after she saves me, and I expect her to be looking at me too, but instead I see her staring in the other direction. I look over to where she is staring, and I see Trace fighting 3 of them at once. Just then she sprints over to him and starts fighting with him. However I can feel something that isn't right between the two of them.

Maybe it was the way that she got even paler than she already is when she saw him in trouble, or the way that they move together so well that you would think that had been fighting together for their whole lives. I don't know, but something just doesn't seem right about the two of them.

However, I hear a strangled cry, and to my horror I see one of the monkeys launching itself at Peeta with it's fangs bared. I know that it's going in for the kill. It almost happens in slow motion, and I can't breathe.

Then I see something launch itself in between Peeta and the animal. Instead of sinking into Peeta, the monkey's fangs sink into who I now realize is the female morphling. I never even really knew her, but it still hurts a part of me when I know that she is going to die. I try to shake it off because I know that the monkeys are going to keep attacking, but when I look for the monkeys I see that all of them are retreating back to wear they came from. It's as if something is calling them back. I would follow them to see where they are going, but I don't want to risk making one of them mad or anything, so instead I just go to Peeta.

He is dragging the dying morphling to the beach and the rest of us are following. Now that I am not about to die, I think about how weird this arena has been. Nothing about it has really made any sense.

**Please please please leave me a review with what you are thinking because I am dying to know!**

**Love**

**-M**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11:**

**Hey guys! Sorry I couldn't update sooner. I had to drive for 2 days in a car with my family and there was no time, but I am updating now ;D No reviews on the last chapter, but that's okay because there is always this chapter. Please read, enjoy, and review!**

Katniss POV:

I am sitting against a tree with Travis keeping watch, and I can feel my eyes getting droopy. But then I hear something; I hear a loud bong. I jump up and listen to the 11 other bongs that follow it. "What does that mean?" Travis asks me, but all I can do is shrug my shoulders. Maybe 12 for each of the districts? Then I get scared again when I see a huge flash of lightning come down from the otherwise clear sky and strike a tree on a hill. What was that?

It's about an I am sitting against a tree with Travis, keeping watch while the others are asleep. I should be paying attention to whatever Travis is doing (since he is doing something a little ways off from me) but I can't stop thinking about what happened with that guy Trace. Though I didn't say anything, I was curious as to why Thorne- who hates almost everyone- was so quick to jump in and save him. She had a good point with the fact that he could help us, but somehow I keep feeling as if there was some other reason that she isn't telling us.

"Hey Katniss, come over here!" I hear Travis call. "There's fog coming. Come on it looks refreshing."

I hear him get up and I immediately jump up and follow him. Sure enough, there is a thick fog slowly drifting towards us. Travis is walking towards it. It is then that I realize the fog is probably some sort of trick. I start to panic.

"Travis!" I call. He is reaching a hand out towards the fog, but he pulls back and looks at me. "Let me go first, just to see if it's safe," I tell him, and he listens. I slowly reach my hand out for the fog. My fingers are reaching out until the tips of them finally meet the fog, and when they do, I recoil in blistering pain.

I turn around and scream, "Run!" at Travis and we both start to run back to the others and shake them awake.

"What's going on?" I hear Thorne ask. I ignore the horrific pain in my hand and I manage to say, "Run the fog is poisoned!"

She hops up and I see Trace hop up with her. I have to say that I am actually sort of surprised that he stayed and didn't run. We all run, but it hard escaping something like fog. Mags gets on Finnick's back, and I am worried about Peeta. I don't know how long he can last doing this. He is still weak from his heart stopping.

Thorne POV:

I am running with everyone else. I am probably the fastest of the group, but there is no way that I am running full speed and leaving everyone behind. At one point I fall a little and my shoulder comes into contact with the fog. It is pain like I haven't felt before. It feels like every nerve in my shoulder is on fire, and NOT in a good way at all.

I feel like falling when the fog hit my leg. I feel like falling and never getting back up again and just letting the fog consume me. However, I can't just give up and die like that; I refuse. So I grit my teeth and keep running and fighting. We are running for who knows how long.

I hear Katniss cry out behind me and I turn and look back. Peeta is on the ground and isn't going to be able to get back up. I know that he must not be fully recovered from earlier today. I stand by where they are, and I see the fog coming closer and closer with each passing moment.

"We have to go but I can't carry him!" Katniss cries, desperate for something. Then I see Mags get off of Finnick's back.

"Mags, what are you doing?" I ask. Of course she doesn't say anything back. Instead, she kisses Finnick full on the mouth.

"Mags?" Finnick says in a shaking voice. The old woman doesn't turn back before she starts walking towards the fog. "Mags!" Finnick screams, but she doesn't stop. I see her disappear into the fog and a moment later, the canon sounds, signaling her death. I find that I am sad that she is dead, but I know that if we don't go soon then her sacrifice was for nothing.

"We have to go guys," I tell them with a grave look. Peeta gets on Finnicks back and we all get up and start running, barely missing being consumed by the fog.

The fog is now right on our heels, and we have to run at full speed if we are to stay alive. I feel faint and I can't see anything around me except for a spinning void of darkness. But I keep going because I can't stop. All of the sudden I feel myself falling. I feel strong arms grab me as I fall, and I know its Trace, however I also can feel that he's falling with me.

I feel the ground, and when I open my eyes again, I can see that all of the remaining 7 of us are lying on the ground and just watching as the fog gets closer and closer. I wait for death, and I know that this is the end.

But then something changes. Right before the fog hits me, it stops and presses up. It's as if there is a wall of invisible glass that's keeping it from going any further. The next second, all of the fog vanishes completely.

We all look at each other and breathe heavily. I am trying to get my breath back. I am winded from all of the running and the pain that the fog caused. I dare to just peak at the wounds from the fog, and I see that they are like blisters.

From behind me, I hear a cry of pain and then a sigh of relief. I turn my head as best as I can to see Katniss in a pool of water. She is almost smiling, which is strange given the fact that we were all almost killed a few minutes ago by poisonous fog.

"The water," she croaks out. "The water helps."

I will do anything at this point to make the pain go away, so I crawl over to the waters edge and dive in without hesitation. As soon as the water hits me the pain gets so much more intense. I scream under water as the pain just keeps getting worse and worse. What the hell was Katniss talking about?! This makes it worse!

Then all at once the pain stops and I feel instant relief. I go up to the surface and take a huge, calming breath of air. I then lose myself in the water. I am aware that Trace and Peeta come in not long after me, but both Travis and Finnick have to be forced. I however take no part in that. I keep going under the water and coming back and up, and using the water to just help me relax for just one little moment.

I come up for air again, and this time I actually open my eyes and look around. I see Katniss, washing off the last of her fog-caused wounds in the water. I see Travis and Trace arguing a short distance away, and I see Finnick siting on the side of the water, probably grieving the loss of Mags. I start to exit the water, and when I reach the edge, I see Peeta. He is oblivious to the fact that there is some sort of giant, orange monkey right in front of him.

"Peeta," I say very cautiously, he turns his head to look at me, and he still doesn't see the beast.

"Peeta, walk very slowly over to the rest of us," I say. That is when he looks straight in front of him, only to see the giant fangs of the giant monkey that he hadn't seen before. I like Peeta, but he must have absolutely no sense of what is going on around him because the monkey was very close to him for a long time and he didn't see shit.

He keeps looking directly at the thing as he backs up slowly. I see more in the tree line and now I am starting to panic. I think that there is a possibility that they aren't friendly, and a very large possibility at that. He keeps looking at the thing that's right in front of him as he backs up closer to the rest of us. But then, something shifts and the monkeys don't stay where they were anymore. Now, the charge straight and fast and right towards us with a look of murder in their eyes.

It's chaotic. Katniss tries to shoot as many as she can, but I can tell that there will be point in the near future when there are too many of them for her to protect us from. They keep running closer, and as they come, I try everything I can think of. I stab them, throw knives at them, even try to tackle them and then kill them. They die of course, but as soon as one dies there are many more for me to try and kill. They just keep coming and coming and we have to keep killing and killing. But I keep on fighting.

I see more and more of those things coming towards us. I shove a knife into one of them, but just as I do I myself falling down, tackled by one of those things. I struggle with on my back. I can feel its claws scratching me, and I have to get this thing off now, or its going to kill me. Then all of the sudden I feel it go limp and I shove it off to see one of Katniss's arrows buried in it's back. I grab it and mentally thank her.

I see Katniss being held underwater by one, and I stab it so she can get up before she drowns. She gets up and I give her the arrow that she used to shoot the monkey. After that I turn around to survey everyone, and what I see almost makes my heart stop. I see Trace getting attacked by three monkeys at once. Oh shit. I don't even think about what anyone will think; I just see the person I love in trouble and I sprint over.

Katniss POV:

I look at Thorne after she saves me, and I expect her to be looking at me too, but instead I see her staring in the other direction. I look over to where she is staring, and I see Trace fighting 3 of them at once. Just then she sprints over to him and starts fighting with him. However I can feel something that isn't right between the two of them.

Maybe it was the way that she got even paler than she already is when she saw him in trouble, or the way that they move together so well that you would think that had been fighting together for their whole lives. I don't know, but something just doesn't seem right about the two of them.

However, I hear a strangled cry, and to my horror I see one of the monkeys launching itself at Peeta with it's fangs bared. I know that it's going in for the kill. It almost happens in slow motion, and I can't breathe.

Then I see something launch itself in between Peeta and the animal. Instead of sinking into Peeta, the monkey's fangs sink into who I now realize is the female morphling. I never even really knew her, but it still hurts a part of me when I know that she is going to die. I try to shake it off because I know that the monkeys are going to keep attacking, but when I look for the monkeys I see that all of them are retreating back to wear they came from. It's as if something is calling them back. I would follow them to see where they are going, but I don't want to risk making one of them mad or anything, so instead I just go to Peeta.

He is dragging the dying morphling to the beach and the rest of us are following. Now that I am not about to die, I think about how weird this arena has been. Nothing about it has really made any sense.

**Please please please leave me a review with what you are thinking because I am dying to know!**

**Love**

**-M**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

**So this is probably one of my favorite chapters, and you will see why. It is pretty big. Some of you guys have said that you like that I am staying so close to the story, and some of you have said you want me to change things. Well, I changed this scene so that it works better and is cooler for this story. I hope you guys like it!**

Thorne POV:

We sat on the beach for a few minutes before we decided that we should head into the rain forest. We came to the conclusion that it would be better to go into the woods during the day than to go at night.

We are walking through the dense, green leaves, when I see something up ahead.

"What's that?" I ask, but the others have no idea. We keep walking towards it, and when we get close enough, I see that it's a giant clearing. But that isn't the strangest part. Not only is there nothing flat ground surrounded by trees, but it is in a perfect circle. And I mean perfect. This cannot be natural; this has to be set up by the gamemakers as some sort of trap.

"Let's go," I say to everyone, but they don't listen.

"Wait, just let me check it out for a second," Finnick says back.

"No! Can't you see? This is so obviously a trap set up by the gamemakers. Now, let's go!"

I move to walk out and back into the trees. Those idiots are going to get themselves killed or something if they don't follow me, I can just feel it. I keep walking and I have reached the tree line when I slam into something. I fall down, and when I look up, there is nothing there that I could have possibly slammed in to. I stick my hand out cautiously and I feel something that I can't see. It's too invisible to be glass, and I have no idea how it got there. How did we get in here if this was there? All I know now is that I was right and this is not going to be good.

"Guys! We're trapped!" I scream, pounding against the invisible barrier. That gets their attention.

"What?" Johanna asks and they all run over. I'm still trying to get through whatever is holding us in, even though I know it's no use.

"I mean we can't get out! There's something not letting us out."

They all start to pound on it too. God if only we hadn't gone in here in the first place. We are all getting frantic when I feel the wind pick up. We all turn away from the invisible barrier to see maybe the strangest thing I have seen in the games yet.

The leaves of the trees on the other side of the clearing are moving, and not with the wind. The branches with the leaves move and shift until they form a huge flat surface of leaves. It's almost like some sort of flat wall, but I don't know why they would need a wall when they already have this invisible thing holding us in?

But then I hear something. I hear a song, and then a young girl appears on the leaves. It then occurs to me that the leaves aren't making a wall, they are making a screen.

There is a girl standing at the front of a class of other small children. It shows a young boy who looks a lot like Peeta, and then it flashes back to the girl with two braids and her hair. She starts to sing, and it's actually sort of cute, though the song sounds haunted.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow,

A bed of moss, a soft green pillow.

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes.

And when you wake the sun will rise…"

The song trails off and then I see a slightly older version of the girl walking away from what I know to be the school in district 12. She is walking away, and I see an older version of the boy that I saw before, who is hiding behind a wall looking at her. I can now tell that the boy is Peeta, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the girl is Katniss.

I then see Katniss sitting by a tree in the rain looking like she is about to faint, and I see Peeta get whacked on the head by a woman. I then see the woman leave and then Peeta throws the bread to Katniss.

Then I see Peeta, looking about how he looks no, standing with a group of people. He is laughing with them, but then he looks away and sees Katniss. She is standing a little distance away from him and his friends with a tale, muscular boy with dark hair. They are laughing and walking together, and I can see the jealousy in Peeta's eyes. After that, the image fades to black. I look at Peeta and he seems not only freaked out, but a little embarrassed.

Shit! I got so caught up in watching the projection that I forgot about the real problem here. I need time to think, but I don't get it because another image pops up on the leaf screen. I see a man in what I recognize as the mineshaft in district 12. The miners go down in the shaft, but then everything explodes.

I see the little Katniss standing in a nice room, clearly holding back tears, with some sort of medal or something in her hands. Next there is a picture of the little girl that I know as Katniss's sister standing next to Katniss and a woman sitting in the chair. The woman looks alive yet dead at the same time, and I can hear Katniss screaming at her and shaking her, but the woman doesn't respond at all. I hear Kantiss gulp next to me. She is staring at the pictures gravely. I can tell these are not good memories for her, just like they weren't really good memories for Peeta.

I then see a skinny little Katniss who can barely even walk and I see her collapse against a tree. The scene quickly changes to Katniss sliding under a fence; the same fence that I would slide under almost every day to go out and hunt for food, or just to be by myself. I see her grab a bow and arrows out of hollowed trees, then I see her shooting things with that same boy that I saw in Peeta's projections. The one that he looked so jealous of.

The screen goes blank for a whole two seconds before I see a red headed woman. She looks pretty young, but she also looks tired and stressed. She is nonetheless beautiful. I feel like I have seen her before.

"Annie!" I hear Finnick cry, but Peeta and Katniss hold him back from attacking the leaf screen. I now know that these are aimed at Finnick.

At first, I see her surrounded by people. She is on camera and she is shaking and freaking out. But then the picture changes and she is laughing and running down a beach with Finnick. He picks her up and carries her into the water, where they continue to laugh. Then she is on a bed crying with Finnick holding and kissing her, and I figure out that I have seen her before. She is the crazy-looking woman the Mags volunteered for. Finnick looks panicked, but I think Katniss and Peeta have a good hold on him. I fear what comes next.

And I should, because next I see a tall, extremely muscular man teaching a young blonde boy with a sword. I can just tell that this is Trace. I look over at him, but all he doesn't is shake his head. I want to go over and be with him during this, but he is telling me not to. The man is now screaming at the boy and telling him to try harder.

"Kill it, kill it!" he screams at the young Trace. "Don't show the dummy mercy. And that is a lesson in life too; never show anyone mercy!" I feel so horrible for Trace. I knew what he went through with his dad, and it is hard seeing it. Thinking about Trace's dad almost brings up the thought of my own dad, but I quickly forget it because the only way I will stay sane through this is if I forget everything that has happened to me. So far it has sort of been working.

In another instant the scenes have completely changed and I see a slightly younger Johanna, sitting at a table with a small boy and girl and who I think are her parents. They are all laughing and talking and eating. They look happy, unlike the rest of the things we have seen. But then the picture changes and I see all of the people that were at the table being taken away and shot except for Johanna. Is that what happened to her family? That's horrible. Johanna doesn't look scared or anything, instead she is swearing her head off and staring daggers at the leaf screen.

The screen goes to black, and nothing else comes up this time. We all turn to look at each other.

"What the hell was that-" Finnick starts to ask, but Peeta cuts him off by pointing back at the screen and saying, "Look, there's another one."

I look back at the screen and suddenly everything around me is spinning and I think I am legitimately going to die.

Katniss POV:

I thought that all of those strange projections were gone. I don't know how they got all of that footage, but then again I don't think I want to know.

I look at the screen, and unlike all of the other images, this one doesn't start out scary. All I see is a man sitting at a table. He is drinking straight out of a bottle of straight vodka. I feel like I have seen him before, but I can't figure out where.

Just then I see a dirtier, paler version of Thorne come in with a plate of food. I know this one is aimed at Thorne. I, along with all of the others, turn to look at her. She is pale and shaking and I have never seen her like this before. How terrified she looks is scaring me. What's happening?

"Oh god," I hear Trace breathe behind me as he pushes me aside and goes over to her. Oh no, what is he going to do?

I am about to lunge at him when he does the strangest thing. He wraps his arms around her and starts whispering things to her. All I can hear him say is, "Don't look, it's not real. Shhhhh, it's going to be okay. He's not here, he never will be, I swear."

What's he talking about, and more importantly, what is he doing and what is happening to Thorne? I can now see the tears that start streaming down her face.

I look back at the screen and I remember that that's her dad. Why is she so upset? I know he didn't die or anything, so I don't get why she is basically freaking out and breaking down. Why does it seem like there is something that no one here knows except for Trace and Thorne?

I look at the screen and I see the man take one more swig of the vodka, making it empty. He then stands up and without any warning smashes the bottle right on Thorne's head. Oh. My. God.

She falls and I see the blood pouring down her head.

"This isn't good enough!" He screams in the most blood-chilling voice I have ever heard. "It's…. all….. we had….." she stumbles out but she can't finish before he pulls his foot back and kicks her repeatedly until all I can see of her is a bundle of blood and broken body.

I hear her screaming and crying behind me, and I look at her because I am crying just watching this and I don't think can watch much more of her being hurt like this.

She is one the ground sobbing into Trace's shoulder. How does she let him get that close to her, and why is this usually arrogant son of a bitch so incredibly nice to her. He acts like he cares about her, or that he maybe even loves her….. what?

I look back to the screen, hoping the worst part is over. However she is still being beaten.

"You stupid bitch. You are worthless and nothing. You deserve this and more," he growls. I am crying more. She looks like she is just an inch from death when he stops hurting her and picks her up roughly by the top of her torn up shirt. He drags her up the stairs and into a small room. He shoves her down on the bed and I realize that there aren't any tears on her face and she hasn't made any noise at all. I don't know how, but she hasn't. Her father comes in, and I just pray that he isn't going to do what I think he is to her. Please please please no.

Just then he rips her shirt off leaving her in just a tank top. I can see the bruises and cuts on her arms, some new, but most of them look old, telling me that this has probably happened too many times before. She doesn't fight it, it's just like she knows what's going to happen and knows better then to fight for herself.

The screen then changes to another scene where Thorne is getting beaten by her father. This time she looks a lot younger, and she is screaming and crying. He starts to hit her harder and then he picks her up by the hair and hisses at her, "You know the rules. One kick for every noise you make and every tear that comes of your fucking eyes."

She then stops crying as best she can, but she only looks around 9, so she can't stand the pain. I feel so bad that it hurts and it makes me cry harder. I just hope that this monster that she lived with isn't real. Please please please.

The screen changes again so that it is a completely different scene. I see Thorne's father, but I don't see Thorne. However, I do see a young woman, who looks a lot like Thorne. I look at Thorne now to see that she has stopped screaming and is now staring at the screen and probably isn't breathing. Oddly enough, Trace is still holding her as close as he can to his body. I look back and I see the woman with silent tears streaming down her face. She is standing with Thorne's dad are standing on what I now to be the bridge in district 12. It's pitch black outside and it takes me a minute to see that Thorne's father has a gun pointed at the woman.

"Please Michael," the woman begs. "What about our daughter?"

It is then that I put two and two together and I realize that the woman is Throne's mother.

The man smiles wickedly as he says, "I guess she'll just have me know."

This makes Thorne's mom start to cry harder and panic. "No! Please don't hurt her! Don't hurt Thorne!" But to my horror, Thorne's father pulls the trigger and the bullet finds her mom's chest. She falls over the bridge and into the rapids. It hurts me to watch it. It kills me to know that that's real.

Thorne is just sitting there blankly, until I see her eyes flutter closed and she passes out into Trace's lap.

**Oh my god so what do you think?! Reviews would mean a ton!**

**XOXO!**

**-M**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

**Here's chapter 14. So, I was just wondering if there is actually anyone out there reading and liking this story? Please leave me a review or something if you do because if nobody is liking it than I will take it down.**

Thorne POV:

I open my eyes and spring up with a jolt. At first, I can't really see anything. Everything just looks fuzzy and green. Eventually my vision starts to come into focus a little more and I realize that I am somehow in some sort of rainforest. How did I get here? This isn't in district 12. God my dad is going to kill me. I don't know where I am, but somehow I feel safe.

I then realize that I am being held by someone. I sit up quickly to see who it is. I see Trace and then everything comes back to me. The reaping, the games, Trace. I'm not in district 12 because I am in the arena and I am a tribute in the 75th Hunger Games.

I start to calm down when I remember one more thing. The clearing….

"Hey," Trace says quietly. "Hey," I mumble back. I don't know where the others are, but I'm alone with Trace and I'm not going to waste this. "So what do you remember?" he asks me.

I think back, trying to think of what the last thing that I remember. I remember finding the clearing, and then trying to get out of it. I remember seeing the projections on the leaf screen. I remember seeing the things my dad did to me. I remember seeing my mom die.

I remember this and that's when the tears start to fall. I start crying and I can't stop. I can't think about anything other than seeing some of the worst things that have happened to me projected for everyone in the country to see. Oh my god. Trace holds me until I force myself to stop crying.

I sit with Trace for a while after, neither of us really knowing what to say.

Finally, I take a deep breath and say, "At least I know now."

"Know what?" he asks, and I say back, "I know what happened to my mom; I know it wasn't suicide. I mean, I always sort of knew, but I now I know for sure."

He nods, and we are silent again. "You know that was the hardest thing I have ever had to watch," Trace says. "It killed me to watch that stuff happen to you. Seriously though. The only reason I remained sane while watching that is because I know that it had to have been a hell of a lot harder for you then for me. I knew that I couldn't lose it because I had to be there for you."

This time I nod. I look at him and I whisper, "Thanks." He doesn't say anything back, but then again, he doesn't need to.

"So what are we going to tell them?" I ask. He gives me a questioningly look and I say, "Well, it's going to be hard enough to explain about my dad. And we know they are going to ask why you knew what was going on and I let you near me. Speaking of which, where are the others?"

"They're at the beach, but I seriously don't know. I was just going to wing it," he says. I can't help but laugh even like this. I just start laughing and crying at the same time, and I say through my tears, "You don't think a lot do you."

He starts to laugh too, and eventually I just put my head on his shoulder he wraps his arms around me. We sit there for a while, then we realize that we have to go meet the others now. We get up and walk down to the beach. When the others start to come into view, I whisper, "Deny everything," into Trace's ear and then I run off towards the rest of the group.

I run down the beach to them. When they see me Katniss breaks from the group and runs up to me and hugs me. She hugs me so tight that it's hard to breathe, but I don't care. After that they all hug me, even Finnick.

When Trace gets here, we all sit down and we start to discuss what the hell just happened.

"So… Anyone have any ideas about what those could have been. I mean, there had to be some sort of pattern that the projections were following," Peeta says. Immediately after, Finnick says, "Well it seemed like they were all targeting a different person, and they were all real, right? So couldn't they just be things that the Gamemakers thought would hurt us?"

"Well, they could," Peeta says, "But knowing the games, there has to be something that all of them have in common."

I cut in then. "I've been thinking about this, and I think I know the pattern. They were all of our deepest secrets. I don't know how they got them, or how they knew what they were, but somehow the gamemakers were able to get ahold of our deepest secrets and were able to project them out for the entire world to see. We were exposed in the worst way possible, and there was no way that we could run or hide because we were trapped in there."

They were all silent as they thought about this, until Katniss says, "Your right, I mean, that has to be it. I mean, I have never told anyone outside of Gale or my family could possibly know about my mom or hunting or anything else that they showed on the screen."

"Yeah what happened there?" Johanna asks. We all shoot her a look that says shut up, but she doesn't listen.

"No, it's fine," Kantiss says. "My dad died in a mine explosion when I was young. After that my mom just completely shut down for months. I think it was out of sadness, but she completely left my little sister and I alone. We were slowly starving to death, and no matter what we did, we couldn't get her to come back to us. One day I was out trying to sell some clothes, but no one bought them and I was so hungry that I just sat down because I couldn't go on any longer. I thought I was going to die. That's where Peeta's projections come in. He dropped some bread in the fire on purpose and he gave them to me. He saved both my family and I's lives. After that I remembered what my father taught me about hunting and I was able to hunt out in the woods and it saved me. That's my deepest secret."

After that we all sat around, not saying anything, then out of the blue, Johanna speaks up and says, "I had a family, a really great one at that. I had a little brother, and a little sister; they were twins, and they meant the world to me. My parents loved me with everything they had, and I loved them just as much. But I got them killed; it was all my fault. I didn't do what the capitol told me, and I didn't believe them when they said I would regret it. The damn capitol killed every last one of them and it was all because I was stupid."

Peeta opens his mouth, probably to tell her that it's not her fault, but she says, "Don't say it," and he closes his mouth immediately.

Next, Katniss asks Trace, "What was yours about?"

He shrugs and says casually, "What can I say, my father is a dick and living in district 2 isn't the rich life that everyone thinks it is. Yeah, maybe we have more food or better homes than you guys have, but that's only because they are training us to do horrible things to innocent people. My dad trained me so hard that I basically was taught to shut all emotions down. It's actually not that uncommon in my district."

He finishes and I look around at everyone. I am the only one that hasn't said or been asks anything about their projection, except for Finnick and Travis, but Finnick's was really short and Travis didn't even have one. I don't even think they are going to ask, and I know exactly why. But I will not be patronized or thought of as weak, I won't.

"You realize I'm not going to break, right? I'm still the same person I was before. You guys can asks me about my projection just like you asked everyone else," I tell them. Peeta starts to stumble out, "We just didn't want-" but I cut him off.

"Save it," I tell him, a little harsher than intended. "I can't really talk about it, it would sort of kill me. I try to block it out most of the time, but you guys all know what you saw and it was all true. Things like that or worse would happen to me every night since I was probably around six or so, maybe even younger. I got worse as I got older, but I won't talk about that. Anyway, Katniss you probably remember hearing about the peace keepers wife that committed suicide a long time ago."

She nods and I continue. "Well, I always knew that it was my dad that killed her. I knew she would never leave me by killing herself because she knew that my dad was a monster and she knew that she would be leaving me for dead if she died, and she would never do that. But I never had real proof or knew for sure until now, when I actually watched him kill her. But the only people that ever knew about the abuse and stuff is my friend Annalyn, who my dad also killed, Cinna and Haymitch." I left Trace out.

"Wait, why Haymitch and Cinna?" Peeta asks, and I say, Well, Cinna because there was really no way to hide the bruises and scars from him because he was my stylist. I grew to trust him, and I'm sorry that he's dead. And Haymitch knows my dad, and I didn't know this, but he's known me since I was really little. My dad and him would drink together and my dad would say some of the things he did when he was drunk so Haymitch knew. But that's not the point, the point is that my dad is the reason that I can fight. I would spend hours training myself to fight and taking my anger out on trees in the woods. My other point is that I am pretty screwed up."

Katniss POV:

It all makes sense now. Everything about hearing screams coming from her room at night, or how I thought I saw her in the woods, because I actually did, and why she would freak out sometimes without warning, and how she is the best fighter I have probably ever seen in my life. However, the one thing that doesn't make sense is how Trace knew what was going on and why he seemed like he cared about her so much. I mean, his story is sad and stuff, but he is still arrogant and selfish and I don't know how she would let him hold her like that when she almost kills anyone that goes anywhere near her.

"What I don't understand is how Trace knew what was going on with you," I say, I see something flash across both of their faces, but it is gone before I can tell what it is.

"I didn't," he says. "She was just standing next to me and she start freaking out and screaming and crying and I was seeing if she was okay. I probably knew less than you did."

He is so lying. I know he's lying for many reasons, one of which is the fact that he standing a little ways away from her, not next to her at all. But I don't say anything.

"You know what doesn't make sense to me," Thorne says, "I don't get why we all had projections aimed at us, but Travis didn't have one."

Everyone turns to look at Travis, who had been completely silent until then.

"It's probably because I don't have any secrets that are anything like that!" he pretty much yells. He's probably more than a little bit freaked out by all of this. "My life was perfectly normal, my life was fine! Nothing bad ever happened to me, nothing like the sick things that have happened to all of you."

Okay, that makes a little bit more sense.

"No, that is not the only thing that doesn't make sense here," Johanna says. "The thing that makes the least amount of sense is how in the hell they got that footage and how they knew to use it on us. Have any of you thought of how creepy that is? What if everyone in the districts is secretly being filmed all of the time or something?"

That's actually what I have been thinking for a while now, but Peeta says that that couldn't be the case because it isn't possible. I think it is, but I don't say anything. Whatever it is, it freaks me and probably all of the others out.

**Pretty please can I get some reviews? That would be great ;)**

**-M**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

**Okay, guys, I got some INCREDIBLE reviews on the last chapter, thank you so much! This is another chapter where nothing like this happens in the books, so it's completely my own. Hope you like it.**

Trace POV:

I was the only one who volunteered to go into the rain forest and look for nuts or berries or something. I told the others that we had enough food but they insisted that we couldn't survive off of just meat. I don't see why not, but I did what they said anyways.

The main reason that I didn't want to go into the rain forest is because I don't want to leave Thorne for more than an instant. I can't believe that even the gamemakers would do something as horrible as they did by showing the entire country that footage. Now I'm adding whoever's idea that was to my kill list, along with Thorne's father.

It was different when she was telling me about what he dad does to her, but seeing it basically killed me. God dammit, why does she have such an affect on me? It's like almost every other person I have ever met I couldn't have cared less about, but then all I had to do is see her face once and I would do anything for her. I knew from the second that I looked at her that there was something special about her.

It has killed me to be with her this whole time in the arena and not be able to talk to her or kiss her or even touch her in any way. I have to be extra careful because of Katniss. I feel like she constantly is watching me, or more exactly, glaring at me.

Snap!- I hear twig snap behind me and I turn around immediately. I pull out a knife and am about to head towards where I heard the sound from, when I see familiar people coming towards me. Shit.

"Trace!" Diamond, the girl tribute from 1 calls. I groan to myself, but I smirk as she comes up and hugs me. "We have been so worried about you. We kept looking for you in the sky, but we didn't see you! Where have you been? All of the victors from my district are dead, in case you didn't know."

I nod and I just say the first thing that I can think of, "Yeah, the tributes and victors from districts 12, 4 and a couple of others captured me. They've kind of kept me as like their prisoner or something, I don't know. I couldn't get back to you guys."

"Wait, why would they let you be here alone?" she asks.

"I… um….. I actually just got away. I was running from them and I was on my way to try and find you guys. Here you are, I guess," I say, trying to think of a way out of this. They can't know that I'm with Thorne and all of the rest.

"Oh, Trace, I'm so happy I found you!" she cries as she hugs me again. I don't hug back, I just kind of stand there awkwardly. I need to get away from her before it's too late. Maybe I could kill her?

I am about to slit her throat when Will, the male from 1, comes through the same way that Diamond did. He is bleeding, but he doesn't seem hurt. He says, "Hey Trace! Where've you been? We've been looking all over for you!"

Dammit! Now I can't kill her because there is no way that Will would let me live. There is no way out of this one.

"Well come on!" Diamond says as she tugs on my arm. "Let's go before they come looking for us! Creed is back a little ways, but we will meet her on the way back. Brutus and Enobaria are back at our base, which is actually a really long way from here. It's almost dark, so we have to hurry if we don't want to be stuck out here at night, which I really don't."

And with that I am tugged away from Thorne and away from everyone else. I can't fight them or they will know something is wrong. I see Creed come into my sight and she runs up to me and hugs me lightly. She isn't exactly one for hugs. She is the female from my district, and she's okay. She's pretty lethal, but she isn't that great. She's sort of the quiet and sneaky type, or at least she tries to be. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this, but I do know that I have to get back to Thorne. At that second I hear the boom of a cannon go off and I start to panic inside.

Thorne POV:

I am sitting on the beach next to Johanna, and we're kind of just talking and laughing. In the beginning, I found Johanna to be mean and a killer, but I am learning that she is probably my best friend in here. We are a lot alike, and we get along really well. Of course I love Katniss too, but she acts more like a mother or a sister to me. She is always underestimating and trying to protect me, and while I appreciate that, I find Johanna to be more like me.

"Johanna, who was that girl in Finnick's projections? He hasn't really said anything about her," I ask Johanna, and she stops smiling and she sighs.

"Annie Cresta, that girl Mags volunteered for," she says, almost reluctantly. I knew I had seen her before somewhere. "She won about 5 years ago, I'm sure you watched her games. But after she won, she went a little…. Crazy. I don't know why, but Finnick and her…. Well, let's just say that love is really weird."

Jeez, she's telling me. Speaking of love, where the hell is Trace? He should have been back like half an hour ago. As if on cue, a canon booms and I am on my feet sprinting through the trees to where Trace said he was going to be.

I crash through the leaves to see that he's not there. I look all around, and I see the others come through the leaves after me.

"He's not here," I say, trying to sound a lot calmer than I am because I still can't have them being suspicious.

"I don't know," Katniss says. "Let's just go back to the beach and wait. If he didn't leave us and go back to whatever's left of the careers like I think he did, then he probably either come back to where we were beach or he will show up in the sky and we will know that he's dead."

Dead? No….. he can't be dead, he just can't be dead. I hide everything that I'm feeling; I don't think that I could cry, even if I wanted to. I sit down on the beach, and all I feel is numbness.

I never thought I would look forward to hearing the anthem, but I am so anxious to see whether or not his face shows up on the screen. I am basically watching and praying, when I see that the only faces that show up tonight are a tribute from 3 and a tribute from 9, not Trace. However, that confirms Katniss's theory that he left us for the careers. But I just know that he would never, ever have left me like that. There had to have been something going on, something that we don't know about.

**Reviews are still welcomed! So sorry it's so short, but there is a lot more to come!**

**Love you all!**

**-M**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that it has taken me a little longer than usual to update, I wasn't able to use my computer. But I'm back now and excited for this chapter, so I hope you guys like it. ;)**

Trace POV:

"It's too dark for us to be lost like this," complained Diamond. "We could get ambushed, and I really don't like the rainforest."

Would she just shut up already? She is beyond annoying. The 12 bongs sounded and the lightning struck somewhere around 5 minutes ago. The idiots that I am with still don't have an idea in hell about the arena or what the 12 bongs are.

I need to get away from them as soon I can, I just have to figure out how. We have been walking through the rainforest for a long time, and it's almost like they don't even know where they're going. We crash through more leaves and then we are standing near a small pond in a small clearing. It takes me a minute, but then I recognize it and I know where we are. I also know how I'm going to get away from them. We are in the clearing where we were attacked by the mutant monkeys.

I have a plan. "Hey guys," I say, and Diamond, Creed and Will look back at me. "I'm really tired, I mean, I didn't really get much sleep being captured by them. Why don't we just rest here for he rest of the night and then finish walking back to the base in the morning?"

They all agreed and I smirked to myself. I knew that they would agree, and now, all we have to do is wait. Will takes first watch, and I pretend to be asleep while I wait for the monkeys to come and give me a way to get the hell away from them.

After what feels like forever, I hear commotion and Will comes and shakes us all awake.

"Guys," he hisses at us and we all sit up. "There's something in the tree line."

We all stand up and look. I know exactly what's in the tree line, but of course I don't say that because it would ruin everything. I can feel my body tingle with anticipation and adrenaline. "They look like monkeys," Creed says.

"Do you think that they're going to hurt us?" Diamond asks, and just like that something snapped and the monkeys come charging for us.

The second that first monkey reaches us, I am sprinting in the direction of the beach. I see the path to the beach, but then it is blocked by probably around 5 monkeys. Dammit, I didn't think that there were going to be monkeys on the side of the pond. When I reach the first one, I stab it easily but the second one scratches me before I can stab it. I eventually am able to stab it and the one next to it. I only see one more up ahead and I charge for it. I stick my sword into it's ribcage just as I feel a sharp, horrible pain in the arm that's not stabbing the monkey.

I look to my left and I see the monkey that has sunk it's claws into my arm. The pain is so bad it makes my vision spotty, and it takes everything I have in me to shove it off and into the water. I've learned that these monkeys can't swim.

I grab my arm and I stumble down to the beach. I run as fast as I can down the beach, trying to distance myself from them. I don't actually know how fast I'm going because everything around me is spinning and I am suddenly really tired. I hear a ringing in my ears, but over the sound of the ringing I hear a canon go off.

I stumble to the right and I feel cold water touch my feet. I learn down and wash the place where my arm was clawed, and it feels like I'm washing it with fire. After that I practically jump back onto the sand and go to left and I can see green trees with my fuzzy vision. I think I'm losing a lot of blood and I hear a second canon.

I stumble back into the trees and try my beast to find a safe and covered place to stay in because I know I won't last much longer before I pass out. I see a huge, leafy bush and I crawl under it. I rip off the already torn and bloody sleeve of my left arm and wrap it as best as I can over the bleeding claw marks.

My vision is getting darker and darker, and right before it fades into total darkness, I hear the sound of a third canon.

Thorne POV:

I jolt awake at night to the sound of a canon. I see the others awake too. "Who do you think that is?" I ask Katniss, and she says, "Hopefully it's Trace, that little traitor."

When she says that I feel like I have been stabbed. The others talk for a little while, and over the course of their conversation, 2 more canons sound.

"Well, at least we know that there is a very good chance that he's dead," Katniss says. "We should all go back to sleep now, I'll take the next watch."

I lay down and I turn away from the others so that they don't see the few tears that I let slip down my cheeks because I now know that Kantiss is right. There are very few of us left in the arena, and out of those three canons, one of them is probably Trace.

He just can't be dead, he can't. I fall asleep crying, but I wake up twice that night screaming my head off from nightmares of my father. The nightmares that I never have when Trace is here with me.

Trace POV:

My eyes flutter open to see that it's light outside and for some reason, I am laying under a bush. I sit up and it only takes me a second before I realize how I got here. I look at where the monkey's claws were and I slowly unwrap my arm. It isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, which surprises me. It has scabbed over, and while it is deep, it doesn't look infected. I think washing it helped last night, and I can't even believe that I was smart enough to do that.

I remember hearing the three canons go off right before I blacked out, which means that all three of them must have died. I guess I feel a little bit bad, but honestly, I really don't. They would probably have killed me, my friends, or Thorne if they hadn't died, or at least, they would try to kill one of us.

Thinking of Thorne makes me remember that I have to get up and find her as soon as I can. I am hoping that this is the first morning after last night, and that I haven't been knocked out for days or something. She probably thinks I'm dead and is going through hell right now. The rest of the group is probably saying that I left just like they thought I was going to. I sit up, but my vision goes fuzzy for a second. I decide to eat some berries that Katniss said weren't poisonus and some nuts too. I feel a little stronger after that, so I gather my weapons, I stand up, and I go down to the beach to start making my way back to where I was last with Thorne. Hopefully they are still there.

Throne POV:

We are sitting on the beach together, and the others are discussing something. I haven't even paid enough attention to the conversation to know even the general idea of what it's about. All I can do is stare into nothing and think about Trace. They have been saying things like how he is either a left us or he ran back to the careers and told them everything. There was Johanna who was the voice of reason and said that maybe it wasn't his fault, but no one believed her except for me, but I of course didn't say that.

He can't be dead; he can't be dead. That is all that I have been repeating for the whole day. The others asked me if I was okay because I'm guessing that I kind of look like shit right now, but I just passed it off as I didn't sleep well last night.

I didn't eat anything for breakfast, and now that we are eating lunch, I'm still not hungry. I mean, yeah I'm hungry, but I can't even think about food without starting to feel sort of sick.

I wasn't with him for that long, and honestly, he was an arrogant jackass to most people. But he was different to me, and I loved him so much more than I should have. He kept me sane, especially in the arena, and now that he's gone I'm close to completely losing it.

They try to get me to eat something for lunch, and I manage to eat some bread, but that's about it. I can't tell how much time passes, but after a long time of more sitting and staring and thinking, Finnick jolts me back into reality.

"Thorne," he says as he stands up and helps me up. "Get up and focus, there's someone or something coming down the beach. We were sitting in the slightly in the rainforest under some trees and so I had to walk out to the edge of the tree line to see what was going on. I look at what everyone else is looking at and I recognize him the instant that I see him.

I sprint out of the tree line and I sprint down the beach to him as fast as my feet will carry me. He gets closer and then I can tell that he see me because he starts smiling the way that he only does for me. As soon as I get close enough I literally jump into his arms. He holds me up as I burry my face in his neck and whisper, "Don't ever leave me like that again."

I hear him laugh and he lets me down. The second my feet hit the ground he kisses me. God I have missed kissing him so much. I wrap my arms around his neck and I kiss him back with all of the sadness and anger and hurt hat I had felt yesterday and today. He was barely even gone for a day but it was way too much.

Katniss POV:

I was the one who spotted someone coming down the beach and I was also the one who told everyone. I had Finnick tell Thorne, and once we were all up there I was able to get a closer look at who it was. It took me a little while to recognize the person, but it didn't even take Thorne a second.

She sprinted out of the tree line where the rest of us were, and despite all of us telling her to come back, she just kept running towards Trace. What is she doing?

As soon as she reached Trace, she did the one thing that I wasn't expecting her to do. She jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. Thorne is the girl who won't let anyone touch her under any circumstances, but now she is wrapped in Trace's, of all people's, arms. I mean, she has been acting strangely all day, but I didn't think it had anything to do with Trace.

What the hell is happening? I mean, I knew that there was something off with the two of them, but I never even considered it to be something like this. It's almost like they are together as a couple. No, its almost like they are….. in love?

**Please review! It would be so great!**

**XOXO!**

**-M**


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